Level 2: Children
by arpulver
Summary: In the year 2040, the Digital World has been sealed off, and Digimon are only a fading memory. But when one boy meets the daughter of Matt and Sora, he learns the truth about the past, and discovers that he may be the last digidestined.
1. Date

**_Level 2- Children_****_  
_**_   
Kensuke Motomiya- Age 23  
Born to Davis and Maho Motomiya on January 20, 2017  
Head of Japan Division of "C.G.Y. Noodle" restaurant chain  
Currently living in Tokyo with wife Natsumi and son Taro  
  
_**Stage One- Date  
  
**The black skirt clinging around Michi's waist baffled her as she stared into the mirror. It was hardly modest; her bare knees were clearly visible from her vantage point. Was it too high-cut for her to wear to this event? It had been years since she and her brothers last saw Adam. Perhaps he still preferred to perceive Michi as an innocent girl who demanded sympathy wherever she went. 

The sympathy wasn't the problem. Michi and Kori cherished every friend driven to tears by the story of what happened. Since Adam suffered a similar fate, the three coped together, along with the four other children overseas.

But Michi was sixteen, and the tragedy was eleven years behind her. She wasn't innocent anymore, and she had a surplus of sympathy. She'd rather leave it all in the past than depress others with her sob story. 

Michi looked at the skirt again, her thoughts straying from Adam to the other party attendants. Maybe it wasn't revealing enough. Perhaps she should focus on her impression on the strangers in attendance. After all, she would always be a little girl in Adam's eyes. 

"To hell with him," she thought. 

She heard Tony shout from downstairs, "Michi! Are you ready yet??" 

She twisted around in time to see her digital alarm clock flash six o'clock. It was half-past five when she entered the room to change. She hurriedly threw on a blouse to match the skirt and ran downstairs.

Tony and Kori were waiting for her in the living room, Kori wearing a wry smile. "Is it me, or did Michi actually have to think about what she was going to wear?" he said.

"Shut up, Kori," she growled back. She had little to say in defense. In fact, she was a little embarrassed about her indecisiveness. Kori had good reason to tease.

"At least you chose well," Tony said, casually eyeing Michi's outfit.

Michi shrugged. "You know more about women's fashion than I do." This sent Kori into a fit of chuckles.

Before he could respond, his father entered and gave Tony a ten-dollar bill. "Here's some money for the subway."

Tony was complaining before the money was even in his pocket. "The subway? Why can't we take a taxi?"

"All the way to Brooklyn? It's too expensive. You have your cell phones in case you get lost, right?" 

The three teens mumbled in confirmation.

Not through with his parenting, the family patriarch continued, "Is Steve going to be there?" 

"No, but you trust Adam, don't you?" replied Tony.

His father placed his hands on his hips and stared at the trio. "It's not Adam I'm worried about. It's his friends. I don't know what college kids are doing these days, but I don't want you to be part of it."

"Trust us," Michi said, stepping forward, "We won't do anything stupid. We haven't seen Adam in so long, and we don't want to ruin any chance of seeing him ever again."

"Fine, but be home by ten."

"Ten?!" The three shouted simultaneously. 

This drew the attention of Tony's mother, who walked in from the kitchen. She moved slowly, but her cautious stride still maintained a certain degree of elegance. At first, she didn't interrupt the bickering between the father and the children, but she knew her presence in the room would be required. It wouldn't be long before…

"Mom, tell Dad we can be out past ten!" 

"Yeah. If we have to take the subway, it'll take an hour to get there and back anyway!" While Michi always played on emotions, Kori relied on logistics. They were an unstoppable tandem.

She turned to her husband. "Michael, make it eleven. Adam can't afford to do this every day."

Michael folded his arms. "There's a reason for that," he said stubbornly.

"Nothing's going to happen to them. They can take care of themselves." She was immediately greeted with hugs from Michi and Kori. She smiled and rubbed the top of Kori's red hair. "Okay, I bought you an extra hour! Don't waste it here. Get going!" 

In a flash, the kids were out the door. Michael stared out the window as the three walked toward the nearby subway station. Without looking at his wife, he said, "I just have a bad feeling. This party is going to cause problems. You really shouldn't encourage them like that."

His wife stuck out her tongue. 

"You're getting really good at working her Kori," Michi threw an arm around her brother's shoulder. "One of these days, you'll figure out how to get Dad on our side."

Tony folded his arms, his eyes narrowing as he walked alongside the two. His posture was a smaller duplicate of his father's pose five minutes ago. "You know, Dad has a point. We don't know what's going to happen at this party."

Michi stepped forward and turned around to face Tony and Kori. She walked backwards, matching their pace. "We're going to have fun! Are parties suddenly not allowed anymore?"

"Considering what the party's for…" Tony replied gravely.

Michi turned around and marched ahead. "We're meeting up with our old buddy Adam. Nothing more. How can they lock us up for that?" 

Tony didn't respond. Kori, meanwhile, changed the subject, "Are we far enough away from the house yet?"

Michi looked back. They had walked at least a block. "Yep," she concluded, raising her arm toward the street. "Taxi!!" 

The night was young, but a few party-goers were already settling into the large, open basement. Adam was still setting the food table in order when he heard a familiar voice.

"Adam! How's it been?!" 

Adam promptly turned around and smiled. Dwayne was an old friend from high school. They were in different classes, had different hobbies, and were of different races, but somehow had the right chemistry to support each other through graduation.

"Dwayne! Glad you could make it!" Adam ran up the stairs and greeted Dwayne with a few hand slaps. "This should be a hot party. Plenty of girls- good picking if you ask me." Adam smiled slyly.

Dwayne shook his head, but kept smiling. "Shame I already have a girlfriend. Remind me to look for the hottest bidder before I take myself off the market next time. But maybe Koji could use some company."

"And maybe Dwayne could move his fat ass so I can see what's going on down there!" Adam was startled by the voice behind Dwayne. Dwayne and Adam both reached the bottom of the stairs, allowing the newcomer access. Adam immediately figured this was Koji. He was a few years younger than Dwayne, and a little skinnier. Adam immediately noted Koji's untamed brown hair. It was hard to imagine how Koji and a neat freak like Dwayne could survive being roommates.

"Hey, Koji. Glad you could make it," Adam shook Koji's hand.

"No problem. You're Adam, right? Nice to meet you." Koji smiled, even giving a little bit of a bow. 

"Sorry I had to drag him along," Dwayne said, immediately getting a harsh look from Koji.

"Hey, try as you like, you can't get rid of me Dwayne."

Adam started laughing. "Are you two thirsty? We've got… well, everything."

"Is the punch spiked?" Koji asked.

"Yeah."

"Perfect." The seventeen-year-old headed for the drinks, immediately followed by Dwayne.

When Adam had invited Dwayne to the party, Koji had become an interesting topic of discussion. While Adam had encouraged Koji to attend, Dwayne had been hesitant. Dwayne had given in eventually. But it was confusing to Adam- why would Dwayne, normally open and friendly to everybody, not want his roommate to be present?

Adam remained at the base of the stairs and watched Dwayne and Koji. They were drinking whatever was in their Dixie cups and were chatting and laughing like typical friends. 

With nothing wrong in their relationship, Adam focused on Koji. His youth may have been a factor. But Dwayne knew there would be plenty of high school students at the party. Koji would have no trouble finding people to talk to. Perhaps it was something about Koji's attitude. But with bright brown eyes and a constant smile, he seemed rather cheerful and friendly. 

As more guests began to arrive, Adam quickly stopped thinking about the matter. It was totally inconsequential. After all, the party was not about Dwayne or Koji. The most important group hadn't arrived yet.

They arrived a half-hour after Dwayne and Koji came in. By then, the basement was filled with college students showing off their dance moves, the chatter of girls exchanging the latest gossip, and underage high school kids throwing down a couple of drinks.

"Wow… cool party," Kori mused as he, his sister, and Tony descended the staircase.

"Where's Adam?" Tony asked as they reached the bottom of the staircase. 

Fortunately, the room wasn't crowded enough for them to miss Adam approaching them.

"Hey, you made it. It's been so long, how are you guys doing?" Adam made quick work of the pleasantries, shaking hands with Tony and Kori and hugging Michi. 

The four caught up quickly, each giving their story of what they had done since they last met. 

It wasn't hard for Dwayne to spot them. They were still at the bottom of the staircase. He knew the three from some of his father's friends, and through Adam, but never actually met them personally. The eldest boy was tall, with dirty blond hair and cold brown eyes. The second boy was a few years younger. His short, red hair was combed neatly above a rounded face. The girl's hair was also blond, but colored a more vibrant yellow than the eldest boy's dingy look. She was neither cute nor pretty, according to Dwayne's standards. But with her strikingly beautiful eyes, emphasized by a confident smile, it was hard not to call her attractive. 

Dwayne casually entered the conversation. "Are these three who I think they are?"

Adam smiled at Dwayne. "Dwayne, I don't think I've ever introduced you to them."

"If you have, it was so long ago I can't remember."

"Well, this is Tony Grant," Adam said, pointing to the eldest boy, who nodded carelessly. Adam moved his finger to the second boy and the girl. "And this is Kori and Michi…" He raised his tone as if to say something further, but fell silent. 

Dwayne shook hands with all three and introduced himself. But soon after he did, the conversation turned to more uncomfortable matters. The event. It wasn't that Dwayne wasn't affected by it, but his loss was foreseen ahead of time. For Kori, Michi, and Adam, it was more sudden and more devastating. 

Tony quietly excused himself from the discussion, giving Dwayne an out. With Tony, he entered the thick of the party. But Dwayne wasn't completely safe yet, as he suddenly found himself forced to listen to Tony's take on the situation.

"I can't stand hearing them talk about it," he said, frequently glancing back at the three. "I mean, it's not that I don't feel sorry for them, but really- it may only be the beginning."

"The beginning of what?" Dwayne replied. 

Tony eyed the floor. "Every person needs to know their place in life. And every person needs to know the consequences of stepping out of line."

Dwayne leant in closer. "You really think their parents were stepping out of line?"

Tony looked up. "In a way, yeah. They challenged the system and faced the consequences. I think it's a little extreme myself, but every time we talk about it, it's a baby step away from the line. Don't you think that's a bit dangerous?"

"Dunno… depends on what you think of the system." Dwayne glanced at Adam, still deeply engrossed in the chat with Michi and Kori. He returned to Tony, who was starting to tremble. Tony cautiously looked back at Dwayne, until he faced away.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he said nervously as he walked away.

As ten o'clock approached, a few people had started to leave. But most were still around, including Michi. She was casually dancing, wondering which of the many boys would gather up the nerve to ask to dance with her. She would say no, of course. Nothing against them, but spurning offers and maintaining her elusiveness was her only form of entertainment. Michi only knew a few others, and she definitely wasn't going to spend all of her time with her brother or Tony.

"Hey there," 

A boy had sneaked up from behind and tapped her on the shoulder. She was startled at first, but spun around to greet the intruder. 

 "My name's Koji," he said. He seemed innocent enough. Michi could tell he was nervous. His voice was a little squeaky and he had a lost look in his puppy-dog eyes. 

She smiled at him, but said little more than, "hi."

He smiled in response, and with a little more bravado, asked, "So how do you know Adam?" 

Although she was able to maintain her smile, she began to fret. She didn't want to make a sympathy plea for Koji, but it was pretty much the only thing that connected her to Adam.

"Our parents are friends," she answered, settling on a half-truth.

Suddenly, Koji raised his eyebrows. "You know Mr. Fisher? He's my history teacher."

"No, I mean his mother," she corrected him.

He thought about that for a moment, filling Michi with fear. Immediately she realized she shouldn't have said that. He probably knew about…

"Isn't Adam's mother…?" 

Before he could finish his query, Michi grabbed his hand. "Wanna dance?"

He nodded slowly, his smile growing slightly wider as the previous song faded below the dense murmurs fogging the basement. Michi had made a mistake in committing herself to a dance with her mysterious suitor; she silently prayed it would be to a lively upbeat number rather than a slow love ballad. 

Luck was on her side- the initiating drum solo at 140 beats per minute reassured Michi that she would enjoy paying for her error. She released his hand and began swinging her arms to the rhythm. Koji was also receptive to the music, and danced in perfect time. With the opportunity to turn him down long past, Michi decided to lose herself and enjoy the moment. By the time the song reached its first chorus, she and Koji were hand-in-hand, attempting with some success to synchronize their moves.

As an instrumental approached, Koji leaned in closer. "You're a pretty good dancer," he said, barely loud enough for Michi to hear over the music.

She responded, equally careful to make sure he could hear, "Thanks. Everyone says I have a good sense of rhythm. My brother thinks I should take drum lessons."

They continued, increasing the complexity of their pas de deux. The song was upbeat indeed, but it was also long. By the time the cymbals crashed for the final time four minutes later, Michi and Koji had developed enough chemistry on the floor to earn the attention of the spying wallflowers. They were also completely exhausted, and quickly fell into two empty seats as a slower song began to flow through the speakers.

Michi started laughing. It had been a while since she actually accepted an offer to dance with a stranger. She had taken so much enjoyment in refusing requests, but it paled in comparison to accepting them.

"That was great. Where'd you learn to dance like that?" she said in-between huffs.

Koji sat back in his chair with a satisfied smile on his face. "Never did. I kinda surprised myself out there too. Maybe I picked up some of Dwayne's moves."

"Oh, are you Dwayne's roommate? Adam was talking about you over the phone a couple days ago."

After glancing at Dwayne, safely occupied by a bottle of hard lemonade, Koji turned back toward his dance partner. "Yeah, he wasn't sure if I'd fit in at a party like this. Don't know why he had any doubts. It would have been a shame to miss meeting you… what was your name again?" 

"Michi. Michi Grant. What was yours again... Koji?" 

"Yep, Koji Mathews." He peered across the room, and saw Adam, also occupied by a few particularly shapely ladies. "So uh…" Koji began, with a little hesitancy, "So your parents knew Mrs. Fisher?"

Michi stared at Koji before answering. "Yeah. They were friends from school. I'm assuming you knew her too?"

"Nope," Koji replied without flinching, "But like I said, Mr. Fisher is my history teacher. Everybody I talk to says he's still got issues or something. You know, like he can't move on or something."

She looked down and sighed. "I don't blame him. I mean, when my parents died it took a while to…"

Koji quickly turned to face Michi. She lifted her chin so her eyes would meet his gaze. "What happened to your parents?" he asked, with some degree of concern.

Unable to glance away and dodge the question any further, she answered, "They died when I was four years old." After a moment's pause, she quickly added, "It was a fire."

"Wow… my parents died in a fire too. It's awful, isn't it?"

Her gaze quickly turned from one of sadness to one of curiosity. She tilted her head, trying to recognize his face. 

"What?" he asked, suddenly confused by her change of expression.

"Never mind." She gave up and turned back to the happy dancers. "I mean, it's in the past, right? Whatever happens, you just have to make the most of it and move on. There's no sense dwelling on what you can't control, because if you do that, things will only get worse, right?"

"You bet!" Koji exclaimed, nervously glancing aside. "So, uh… what are you doing next week?"

Michi caught herself turning toward Koji, and stopped midway. He had turned back to face her, and she didn't want to look at him until she knew whether or not she wanted to tell the truth. Michi had already let her guard down, and had no intention of beginning a foolish romance. However, Koji seemed harmless, and she had already decided that at the very least she liked him enough to want to start a friendship. She answered the question with that specific goal in mind. 

"Uh…" Koji closed his eyes. He could picture the date. "November… 9th?" 

Dwayne rested his head on his right arm, itself balanced on the right arm of the chair. "Close," he replied, trying to lead his roommate to the answer.

"Okay…" His eyes remained closed. Suddenly, the numbers reversed and Koji blurted the new date. "September 11th?"

The left side of Dwayne's lips curled upward into a smile. "What year?"

Koji again looked within, but no vision was able to guide him this time. He stood from his armchair and paced around the living room angrily. "I am so fucked."

Dwayne leaned back in his chair, paging through the textbook resting on his lap. "Don't sweat it. I always thought history was more about the what and the why than of the when."

Koji leant forward on the chair he had once occupied. "Then why did Mr. Fisher say we had to know dates for the test?"

Dwayne threw his arms up over the back of the chair and stretched. "I dunno. The date of the event is the setting. Makes you think about all the underlying stuff going on when the event happened. It must mean something that it happened in 2001." Dwayne carefully stressed the "one" to make sure his roommate would get the date.

"So what's so special about 2001?" Koji said, not moving from his position. Dwayne shrugged his shoulders, stumped.

"Look, Koj', don't be so stressed. It's one test. Besides, Fisher's an easy grader. You'll be fine."

Koji flipped over the back of the chair, and landed squarely in the seat. "He'd better be. You know, I'm really at a disadvantage with history. I don't remember any of this happening. How can I know the dates?"

Dwayne leaned forward and thumbed through the text. "You don't remember any of this stuff? I mean, most of these are earth-shattering events. You've never heard of them?" 

Koji shook his head slowly. "All I can remember from my old history classes are ancient stuff. We never got any 21st century history. Everything on the test happened in the last 40 years… and it's all so foreign to me."

Dwayne shook his head. In one motion, he stood and handed the textbook back to Koji. "You'll survive. If this book says nothing else, it's that mankind has gotten through a lot worse things than history tests."

As always, Dwayne proved to be right. Koji had fretted, panicked, and ultimately memorized his way through the material. Dates were on the test, but fortunately for Koji, he was expected to know what events were associated with what dates, and not vice versa. Koji could handle that. He knew what happened on September 11, 2001. He knew what happened on February 14, 2014. He definitely knew what happened on June 9, 2027. Under each date, he regurgitated what he had memorized without much hassle.

With one exception- December 31, 2028. 

Koji had read every word of the text in preparation for the exam. Yet this date was totally unfamiliar to him. He looked around the classroom. The other students always seemed so capable during these tests. They knew what happened on that day, of course. They were probably old enough to remember it. They could describe every vivid detail. Each of the other students probably had their unique story of where they were when they heard the news about whatever it was that happened on December 31, 2028. But Koji was completely in the dark. To him, nothing happened before his arrival in New York two years ago. As the subject implied, it was history- completely in the past and miles away from anything considered relevant. 

He scribbled "New Year's Eve" underneath the line and moved on to the short essay question about the impact of the Siberian War.

Despite the mysterious date, Koji was confident about his effort on the test. After fervently consulting the textbook and coming up empty, he determined the date was listed on the page in error, or it was some sort of trick question. Either way, he was not going to dwell on it in the days between taking the test and receiving his grade. Besides, the grades were to be handed down on a Friday, and Koji wasn't going to let December 31, 2028 spoil his weekend. He had his date with Michi to look forward to that night.

"One of the questions on the test was thrown out, since so few people answered correctly." Koji beamed as soon as he heard Mr. Fisher's announcement. "Those who did answer correctly…" The teacher paused and stared at one student in the front row, who cowered a little. "…shame on you."

Koji raised his hand, waited for Mr. Fisher to call on him, and asked, "So what did happen on December 31, 2028?" Koji didn't want to sound smarmy, but he had no doubt that the date was the question in question, and his curiosity demanded an answer.

Suddenly, he felt forty eyes turn on him. He glanced around nervously at the rest of the students, who were all glaring at him. He turned back to the teacher, who was also fixed on Koji. After an eternity of hesitation, Mr. Fisher quietly answered "nothing" and returned to the front of the room. He set a stack of papers on the desk and announced, "You can leave as soon as you pick up your test." Without another word, he walked out of the room.

Koji stood instantly and approached the desk. Halfway to his paper, he noticed that nobody else was standing. Afraid of committing another taboo, he stopped.

"You should know better than to ask that," said one student.

"Who answered it anyway? Was that you Charlie?" said another, this one turning to the boy in the front row whom Mr. Fisher had been staring at.

Finally, a third student stood and snatched his test away. "Jeez, nobody's got any decency anymore," he muttered as he walked out. One by one, the other students retrieved their tests and left. Koji didn't move. He was still baffled by the whole thing. 

Finally, he made his way to the desk to get his grade- an 87. In the end, he still got the grade he was shooting for. But somehow, that wasn't satisfying him.

Charlie was the only one left in the room. He stood quietly and fetched the last sheet on the desk. With no one else in the room, Koji seized the opportunity and asked, "So what did happen on that day?"

"That's the day his wife died," Charlie whispered without looking up. He slowly walked to the door. Suddenly, he looked back at Koji, as if he had an afterthought.

"It was a fire," he added.

Unlike a week ago, Michi had no trouble determining her wardrobe for the night. It was the same T-shirt and the same blue jeans she wore to school. The only addition was a baseball cap and a fanny pack.

Kori was decked out in the same outfit, without the fanny pack. "So did you find someone else to go or do we have to drag Tony along again?" he asked his sister.

"Don't worry, I've spared Tony the misery and found somebody. One of the boys from Adam's party last week."

Kori folded his arms. "You told him it was a date, didn't you?"

Her eyes darted around as she scratched the back of her head, "Well, he asked what I was doing tonight, and I told him I had an extra ticket. If he wants to think of it as a date, that's his problem."

"Has anyone ever told you you're evil?" 

Michi laughed at Kori's response. Kori shook his head and continued, "So what time is he coming?"

"Any minute now."

"Five bucks says he brings flowers," he muttered.

Kori made a mental note to collect his bet as Koji walked through the door with a rose. Michi made a mental note to tell Kori he said flowers in the plural. She thanked Koji and handed the rose to Tony, who had walked into the room to see who rang the doorbell.

"Who's this?" Tony asked, scrutinizing the rose.

Michi smiled. "Your saving grace. He's going to the game with us so you don't have to."

Tony looked up at Koji, recognizing him immediately as Michi's dance partner. "Be careful," he told Michi before taking the flower into the kitchen.

"So where are we going again?" Koji asked. Michi had given him details at the party, but he couldn't hear half of them over the noise. He had heard her telling him to be at her door at 4:30, and nodded in agreement.

"The Saints game. It starts at seven, so we'd better get going."

"The Saints… is that…" Koji attempted to connect the team to the right sport, but came up empty.

"I can see you're a big lacrosse fan," Kori replied jokingly. "Don't worry, I'll fill you in on the train."

"Wait… you're going too?"

"Of course. Didn't she say she had three tickets, and needed to find someone to take along?"

"Um… oh yeah! That's right! I remember now!" Koji did his best to make it sound like it wasn't a blatant lie.

Kori glanced at Michi, who met his gaze. "Of course. She wouldn't forget to mention something important like that, would she?"

Michi laughed nervously, and looked back at Koji, pointing a hand at Kori. "This is my brother, Kori. You don't have to talk to him if you don't want to."

"That's alright." Koji shook Kori's hand. "No sense in going to the big game if we don't talk to each other."

Kori smiled as he received the handshake. "Of course. And it may be a big game- New York may actually win for once!"

"Yeah, the Bandits suck pretty bad too," Michi added.

"Do you need money to get there?" Neither of the two noticed Mrs. Grant entering, but quickly turned around when she asked. They didn't, but naturally they accepted the handout. Besides, they actually planned to take the subway this time.

Koji stood by idly while Michi and Kori got their transportation money. His first thought was that he should have listened a little more closely when Michi made the proposal. He assumed a little too much, and quickly realized that Michi wanted him to be a mere friend instead of a boyfriend. Although he had already made an idiot of himself with the rose, Koji was willing to take that route. He had no specific interest in Michi- she was there, she was alone, and it was worth a shot. Just being friends was no real sacrifice to Koji, and he was able to relax, knowing he wouldn't have to play "romantic conquest" with her tonight.

Mrs. Grant stayed in the room. It was a good thing Koji already knew she wasn't really Michi or Kori's mother. She looked too young to be their mother. Somewhere in the mid-thirties, as far as Koji could guess. Still, there were some signs of age- the worry lines around her eyes as she looked down at her step-children, a shaky hand reaching into her purse to fetch the money, and her slow, deliberate mannerisms- all suggesting that her days of going to the ballgame were long in the past. 

She looked up at Koji and smiled. Koji stepped back; for a second, she looked familiar. A figure from years ago, from Koji's past. He couldn't remember who it was- he had committed himself to forgetting about his past. Even then, it wasn't a face that carried distinction in his life. He recognized her as familiar, but also recognized that he never met her before.

Koji didn't require much will-power to survive the outing. Even if he was unfamiliar with lacrosse (or just about any sport, for that matter), the match had enough action to keep him engaged. He did his best to converse with Michi and Kori, but every ten minutes they would direct the discussion back to the play on the field. Koji couldn't keep up. While Kori was analyzing the home team's defensive tactics, Koji was barely able to make out whose net had the little rubber ball in it. 

The siblings were big fans of the game. Koji learned that the two had taken it up as part of a youth initiative program years ago. Their mother had encouraged them to try something, and Michi and Kori had taken a real shine to it. 

"Of course, I think Mom played tennis in her day," Michi added.

Koji also learned that their favorite team wasn't the local New York team who was squarely dominated by the visiting Buffalo squad that night. Since they were originally Texas natives, they were fans of the Houston franchise. In fact, Kori was watching the out-of-town scoreboard as often as he watched the game itself.

Although he learned plenty about Michi and Kori, Koji was careful not to spill too much about himself. It wasn't difficult; the pair was more concerned with discussing the game than with the third wheel tagging along. Koji didn't mind being ignored. He was inserting himself into their social life, and being accepted without much effort. Soon, the three would be friends enough to not discuss their prior history. 

It wasn't until the way back that Michi and Kori turned their attentions to Koji. By then, Koji welcomed the chance to share his personality with them. They had ascended the subway stairs and were making the short walk to the Grant household. Koji entertained them with his story of the mysterious date on the test. Given their knowledge of Mr. Fisher, Michi and Kori were sure to take some enjoyment out of it.

"So I basically have all these dates that I'm totally familiar with. And I'm answering them all, thinking 'hey, I've got this down. I'm going to be all right!' But then this last date comes that I've never heard about! I think I read the chapters over five times, and this last date stumps me completely!" Koji laughed a little at his own expense. 

Michi smiled. Koji smiled as well- they were nearing the door, and he was ending the night on a positive note.

"I ended up writing some B.S. down that I knew wasn't right. So after the test, I dove straight to the textbook- nothing there."

"Really?" Michi replied, with clear interest.

"Yeah. He ended up taking it out because nobody got it. And how could they? I heard it was the day that his wife died or something… how were we supposed to know that?!" 

He turned to Michi in time to see her freeze. Her smile fell immediately. Koji saw Kori run up the stairs to the house without responding. Before Koji could ask Michi what the problem was, she was running up the stairs as well. 

"Um… I guess I'll see you around sometime!" he yelled, trying to elicit some sort of positive feedback. Michi opened the door without responding. 

Koji looked down and did an about-face. He wasn't sure what he said, but figured he had screwed something up. He'd make an effort to restore the friendship later, but for now, he decided it was best to retreat home for the night.

As he began to walk away, he didn't see Michi step out from behind the open door. She took a deep breath, and called out his name.

He turned around in time to see her standing on the stoop, completely expressionless. "December 31, 2028 is the most important date in history," she said before running inside and slamming the door.  
  
**To Be Continued in "Stage Two- Road"**

**Author's Notes  
**By reaching these author's notes, you are one of two classes of readers. Since I am writing with both classes in consideration, you need to know that. Firstly, you may be one of the many readers expecting a continuation of the ever-popular "Level 1: Worlds" story. It may not be easy to tell right off the bat, but this _is_. This is a sequel, and I'm writing this as a sequel. However, you may never have heard of Level 1, or didn't get a chance to read it. Are you at a disadvantage? Not as much as other sequels. This is also written as a completely new story, so you can jump in without too much of a problem. In fact, as the story progresses, you are under no obligation to read Level 1 to understand anything. As anyone who has read Level 1 will tell you… it probably won't help you anyway.   
  
The one advantage that Level 1 readers will have is that they know who most of the characters are. While they're going "that's so-and-so, that's so-and-so, that's so-and-so," new readers are busy trying to figure out why this belongs in the Digimon section. Take my word for it- every character in this chapter, except two, have appeared, in one way or another, in the series. Of course, only two of the characters actually appeared in Level 1. Many of the others were merely referred to.  
  
And for the new readers, a few words of explanation… This is the second in a trilogy of stories known collectively as "The Connection." It unites all four seasons in what is probably the most messed up way possible. Everything is based entirely on the canon endings, with the appropriate relationships intact (this may be the first Sorato story to have neither Sora nor Matt in it). A full timeline has developed between the end of the series and the year this takes place, and a lot of crazy stuff happens (and yes, I know what happened on February 14, 2014 and June 9, 2027). Hopefully you jump on now, since it won't be quite as easy for a newcomer to begin reading with "Level 3: Experiments."    
  
With that out of the way, a few minor notes- I seriously hope I don't offend anybody by making somewhat arbitrary references to 9/11. My reason for doing so is clear- this takes place in the future, and the fact that Koji has problems remembering the date illustrates a few things about the course of history, some things about the whole "remembering specific dates" aspect of history, and a lot of things about Koji's character. 9/11 has an interesting role in all of this, and has been incorporated into the master timeline.  
  
The New York Saints are, or were, the Big Apple's representative in the National Lacrosse League. They recently suspended operations, but since I wanted a fairly obscure sport to give some color to Kori and Michi, I decided to make it so that lacrosse grows in popularity in the future, and the Saints rejoined the league (and presumably, Houston hosts a franchise).   
  
This ends Level 2: Stage One of The Connection.  
  
__


	2. Road

**_Level 2- Children_****_  
_**_  
Michi Grant- Age 16  
Born to Matt and Sora Ishida on March 15, 2024  
Sophomore in high school  
Currently living in Staten Island, New York with Michael and Mimi Grant, brother Kori, and step-brother Tony  
__  
_**Stage Two- Road****  
  
**_----January 1, 2029----_**  
**NEW YORK - Famed astronaut Matt Ishida, 40, and his brother, novelist TK Takaishi, 37, died Sunday night in a fire on the tenth floor of a Manhattan office building.  
      Ishida became the first person to walk on the surface of Mars on Aug. 31, 2017. Meanwhile, his brother TK Takaishi wrote several popular texts about the Digital World, including the acclaimed "Digital Frontier," published in 2014.   
            Ishida's wife, Sora, also died in the fire. According to investigators, the fire killed four others. Their names have not been released.  
            Matt and Sora Ishida leave behind a daughter, Michi, 4, and a son, Kori, 3.   
      Both Ishida and Takaishi were outspoken critics of the recent U.N. policy concerning the Digital World.   
--------

And that was it.

Koji set the old newspaper aside and turned over on the couch. If it truly was "the most important date in history," as Michi put it, the New York Times didn't realize it. He had to dig to find the article, ultimately stumbling on the little blurb buried deep within the international section. 

Obviously, Michi was overstating the significance of it. The same applied to Mr. Fisher. Assuming that his wife was one of the unreleased names, the location and the size of the article made it clear that it wasn't something to test his students on. Perhaps it was the most important date in their histories, but Koji failed to see why the rest of the world was supposed to care. 

But that made him care even more. The lack of details was perplexing. How did the fire start? Why were they in that building to begin with? Where were the passionate quotes from distraught family members that reporters were so desperate to extract? The Times apparently decided that the death of Michi's father was merely worth noting, while all of the questions surrounding the incident were somehow not "fit to print."

"Honey, I'm home!" Dwayne jested from the doorway. Koji sat up in time to see Dwayne remove his shoes and enter the living room.

"Where were you on the night of December 31, 2028?" Koji asked, with a tone of curiosity. 

Dwayne scratched his neck. "Drinking, probably." 

He walked over to the couch and absent-mindedly grabbed the paper. Before looking at it, he turned to Koji. "Wait, did you say 2028? Never mind… I was probably watching my parents drink."

Koji slid forward and sat upright as Dwayne took his old spot on the couch. Dwayne opened the paper, and read for about five seconds. Then he checked the date, folded it up, and tossed it on the floor. 

"So much for timely news. You should check those newsstands or you'll get ripped off," he told Koji.

Koji stood up and said, "I have to talk to Michi. Something doesn't add up. How can she and Mr. Fisher call the deaths of their loved ones an important date in history?"

"It is to them. I mean, your parents died, wouldn't you remember the day that happened?"

For a moment, Koji fell silent. He realized he *didn't* remember the date his parents died. All he remembered was a very cold night that became very warm very quickly. 

"But there's more to this, Dwayne. Sure, it's important to them, but they act like it should be important to everybody."

Dwayne lowered his head. As Koji waited for a reaction, Dwayne remained deadly silent and bowed his head. After a few seconds, he slowly rose to his feet and walked to the window.

"There was other stuff that went on that day," he began, "But it's not something people talk about. In a way, everybody lost a loved one on December 31, 2028. But only a few people knew about it… and most of the rest didn't care."

Koji stepped forward. "Is that what Michi and Mr. Fisher were talking about? It doesn't have to do with Michi's Dad or Mr. Fisher's wife?" 

Dwayne clenched his teeth. "It has everything to do with them..." he trailed off before turning around, facing Koji. "But it has nothing to do with you. Trust me, Koj', the whole thing was really messy back then, and in eleven years nobody's bothered to clean it up. It's over now, so there's no sense trying to piece it all together."

Dwayne walked past Koji, changing the subject. "It's almost dinner time. Got a taste for anything?"

Koji bent down and picked the old paper back up.

"I have to get this newspaper back to the library. I'll stop somewhere on the way."

He didn't tell Dwayne that "somewhere" was Michi's house. Koji needed more information. Whatever happened that day, there had to be a reason nobody would talk about it. Whether it was the unified grief of a population or some external factor, Koji was determined to get through the wall of silence.

Kori answered the door, and tried to shut it as soon as he saw who the visitor was.

"Kori! Wait! I just want to talk to Michi," Koji pleaded.

"What were you thinking? Going on about that?" Kori's harsh voice was able to get through to Koji, even if the boy hardly looked intimidating.

"Do you think I'm some sort of clueless ignorant that knows nothing about the past?"

Kori looked back into the house before returning his gaze to Koji. "Something along those lines, yes."

Koji held out his hands. "Well I am. That's why I need to know what's going on."

After staring at Koji for what seemed like a minute, Kori flinched. He closed his eyes and stared at the cement stoop below him. He looked back up at Koji. His eyes seemed softer, and more sympathetic.

"Come in." 

Kori turned suddenly and walked into the house, leaving the door open for Koji to do the same. Kori led Koji to a couch in the living room. Kori remained standing. 

"If this is some attempt to score with Michi, you're taking the wrong approach. I'll tell you that much," Kori said, before heading to the staircase. Without looking, he added, "Wait here. Hopefully she feels like talking to you, because if she doesn't I have to."

Koji didn't hear the last part. He was pondering Kori's previous words. It was the first time Koji realized that he wasn't doing this to score with Michi. Something else was compelling him to unravel the mystery. Michi, and Kori for that matter, were merely friends going along for the ride. 

Tony, however, seemed determined to derail the trip. "Aw, jeez, not you again," he said upon entering the living room. He stormed up to Koji and eyed him carefully before speaking. 

"What the hell do you want with Michi?"

Koji looked around, unsure how to answer that. Finally, he looked back up at Tony. Tony's glare made Koji turn away again as he replied, "I just need to talk to her."

"What for? I know what you said to her last night. You're talking about the wrong things, and you'd better stop." 

Koji jumped to his feet, forcing Tony to take a couple steps back. "Why?!" he demanded, "Why is all this such a touchy subject?!"

"We'd like to know too," Michi said from the staircase, surprising both boys. As she descended, Tony stood up straight and all signs of anger vanished from his face. 

She walked up to him. "Are you done badgering him?"

Tony glared at Koji one more time. "For now," he answered before stepping into the kitchen. 

Koji fell back onto the couch as Michi found a nearby recliner. She sighed before beginning, "Kori says you want to talk about it."

Koji folded his hands and stared at them as he answered, "Yeah. If it doesn't bother you."

"The rule in this house is that we don't talk about it," she said firmly. 

"Oh."

"But just between you and me…" She leaned in as far as her seat would allow. Koji looked up for a brief moment and found two bluish-gray eyes staring back. "…I hate that rule."

She leaned back in her chair. "So Mr. Mathews, what reason do I have to break it?"

"Don't you think it's wrong to not be allowed to talk about the deaths of your parents, your uncle, and four of their friends?"

"My uncle?" Michi sat up. "How did you know my uncle was involved?"

Koji tossed the paper clipping at her. "Take a look at this. For something that serious, don't you think the details are a little lacking?"

Michi read through the article. Koji waited for her to finish, anticipating her response. Finally, she threw it back. "Yeah, it's a little short, but who cares?"

"But your dad was the first person to set foot on Mars," Koji replied passionately as Michi rolled her eyes, "and your uncle wrote all those books…"

"Okay, they probably deserved a better send-off. But nobody reads those obituaries anyway."

"Even so, Matt Ishida was an international hero. God, when we got to that section in history class, Mr. Fisher wouldn't shut up about it! Why wasn't he praised when he died?"

Michi shrugged. "You're asking the wrong person. He came back to Earth, I was born, and it all went downhill from there." She glanced briefly at Koji. "That's all I know."

"Who are the other four?" Koji abrupt change of subject caught Michi off guard. She quickly turned to Koji and frowned as he continued, "I mean, it's not hard to guess that one of them was Mrs. Fisher, but who are the other three?"

"Yeah, one of them was Mrs. Fisher. I think her name was Kari or something. The other three- I'm pretty sure my parents knew them, but I didn't."

"What were they doing up there?"

Michi began to squirm at Koji's barrage of questions. "Um… don't know. I vaguely remember Mom and Dad saying something about going away on business. I think that's all they told our sitter too."

"Were they all Chosen?"

Michi jumped to her feet. "I was four!" she shouted. "I don't know!" She bent down and began breathing heavily. "All I know is that my parents are dead! I stopped wanting to know more a long time ago. There's no answers and too many questions!"

Koji stood. "Why all questions? Doesn't anybody know?" he persisted.

"Leave her alone!" Koji turned in time to see Tony rushing back into the room. He crouched down and clutched Michi. She didn't move.

"Stop bullying her, damn it," Tony said to Koji, barely keeping his voice below a yell.

"Why is this considered bullying?" Koji replied. "I just want to know about all this. Is that a problem?"

Tony removed his hands from Michi's shoulders and stood to face Koji. "Yes. It is. You ought to know that."

"Were..." Koji squeaked. He regained his composure and finished asking, "Were all the victims Chosen?" 

"So what if they were?"

"Well, it means something!" 

"No it doesn't," Tony said slowly. "My parents were Chosen. So's that teacher of yours. So what?"

"That's what I'm trying to figure out." Koji paused for a moment. He looked down at Michi, who slumped back into the chair. She kept an eye on the conversation, but made sure to stay out of it. 

"Wait a minute… were they all Japanese Chosen?"

Tony shook his head. "Again- doesn't mean anything. My Mom's a Japanese Chosen. Obviously, she wasn't there, was she?"

Koji pointed at Tony. "Your Mom? She's…"

Tony scoffed. As he glanced aside he said, "Her maiden name's Tachikawa."

"So how come all these other Japanese Chosen end up in Manhattan and your Mom, who lives in New York anyway, isn't there?"

Tony folded his arms. "Are you saying she should have died too?"

"I'm not saying anything yet! I want to know what's going on first!"

"Well, you've gotten enough out of Michi and I. You're leaving."

Before Koji could reply, Tony grabbed Koji's shirt collar and yanked. The initial jerk knocked Koji breathless momentarily, but he soon regained in time to realize that Tony was trying to drag him to the front door. 

"Hey! I'm not done yet! There has to be more going on here!" He looked to Michi for support. She rose to her feet and followed him to the door, looking conflicted.

"There isn't. They died in a fire, and that's all there is to it," Tony said, slowing down enough to stress every word. 

He opened the door, and began shoving Koji through it. Koji jerked around, forcing himself out of Tony's grip. He was already outside, but he threw a hand to the inside of the doorway and a foot to the door.

"No it isn't! Don't you see?! Something is seriously wrong with this picture! Everything about the death of Michi's parents suggests it!" 

Tony peered into Koji's eyes before he replied, "And that's why we don't talk about it." Koji braced his foot, anticipating a slam of the door, but Tony didn't move. Tony let go of the door and turned around. Michi had placed a hand on his shoulder, which he shrugged off. 

Before Koji could make sense of any of it, Tony snapped back around. "I don't want to see you in this house again. You're going to get us into trouble." 

He attempted to force the door shut, despite the placement of Koji's foot and hand. He couldn't get past Michi's hand, resting squarely on the outer portion of the door.

"No, Tony," she said softly, "He needs to find out. Somebody needs to find out."

"He's not getting it here! We are not getting involved…"

Michi was suddenly angry, and the force of her hand easily countered Tony's effort to shut the door. "Why not? I'm sick of this! Somebody wants to get in the bottom of all this and you want to throw him out?!" 

"I don't want to be involved…" Tony sounded much less forceful talking to Michi.

"Well I do!" she cried, "I don't know what Koji's going on about, but a fire isn't satisfying enough anymore! There's more going on here, and I want to know what it is!" 

"Michi, listen to yourself! Don't be an idiot!" 

Tony yanked the door back and grabbed Michi's arm with his free hand. Instantly, Michi ducked and cowered. Even Koji took a step back.

Suddenly wide-eyed, Tony released Michi's arm. She continued to cower. "Michi… I wasn't…" 

He hadn't finished his sentence before Michi ran out the door, grabbing Koji's hand on the way. She led him down the street and summoned a nearby taxi.

"Michi!!" Tony shouted from the doorway, but his yell was absorbed by the cab window. Tony helplessly watched the taxi speed away.

Michi was bent over in the backseat. Her hands were clenched together, and supporting the weight of her head. Her eyes were closed, but Koji could not make out any tears seeping through.

"Michi?" he nervously whispered, scooting himself a little closer to her.

"Have you ever had a moment that you think is bad enough… until it makes you realize that the whole world is against you?"

Koji hesitated. He put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry. I didn't think your brother would be so defensive about it."

"It's not your fault. There is more at work. You're right about all of this. It's just that nobody will talk about it."

"You can start anytime."

"I don't know anything else, though…" She rose and shrugged off Koji's hand. "I really wish I could help you more. But like I said, I was four… I had no choice but to believe what they told me." 

Koji nodded. He couldn't blame Michi for being too young to remember. 

She turned back to him and asked, "Do you remember anything?" 

Koji shook his head. "Wish I did. I don't remember much of my past."

Michi raised an eyebrow. "How do you know about the Chosen?" she asked with curiosity. He glanced aside for a moment, trying to come up with an explanation. As he hesitated, she added, "Was it my uncle's book?" 

"Yeah." Koji turned back to Michi and smiled. Her uncle was TK Takaishi: the author and major character in a fascinating book about a brave group of children that saved the world years ago. "It was certainly something they went through. That's why I'm so concerned that nobody seems to know the truth of what happened to them." 

She smiled, sliding back a few strands of hair that slid out of place during her breakdown.

"Well, we've got this cab. Let's talk to Adam. Maybe he's old enough to know what's going on," she suggested. 

As soon as he saw Michi, Adam poked his head out the door and looked around. The hallways were clear, so he shuffled her and Koji into his apartment and shut the door.

"What are you doing here?" he asked while running up to the window and closing the drapes.

Both Michi and Koji sat down, a little stirred by Adam's display of paranoia. "Well… I kinda want to know what happened," she whispered.

Adam knelt in front of her. "Why?" he asked between glances at Koji.

Michi folded her hands and started, "Well, I'm sick of all this secrecy. I want to know what's going on, and why we don't talk about it."

Adam turned to his other guest. "What about you Koji? Does Dwayne know you're here?"

"No. But let's just say this has sparked my curiosity. It's about time somebody learned the truth, right?" Koji did his best to sound as innocent as possible.

"I don't know. This whole fire thing is a tough story to swallow, but if it most people can live with it, we might as well learn to."

"Even if it's not true?" 

Adam paced around, nervously double-checking the window and the door. "It was a bad idea to come here alone, Michi. If you had any questions, you should have talked to me at the party. There's safety in numbers."

"But back then, I didn't realize how important it was," Michi said, turning quickly to catch Koji's response. He remained focused on Adam.

"Well, it looks secure." Adam appeared satisfied and sat down. "What do you want to know?" 

"Who exactly were those seven and why were they in that building?" Koji asked.

Adam nodded. "How much do you know about the Chosen?"

"Enough to know they have something to do with all this."

"They have everything to do with all this. All seven who died were Japanese Chosen. My Mom, her parents and her uncle," he said pointing to Michi, "and three others. I remember my Mom being called that night. She had to run over there. She said it was an emergency."

"That's odd," Michi said, "My parents said something about a business trip. I think they left that morning."

"Yeah, how could it be an emergency? They had to get those four from Japan over here," Koji added.

Adam eyed both of them. "Doesn't add up, does it? My mother was obviously told about this well after the other six. Not only that, but what about the other Japanese Chosen? Michi, your stepmother was also in town; why wasn't she involved?"

"That's one of the things I want to know," said Koji.

Again, Adam nodded. "And that's the big mystery here. All of the Chosen felt the same way… why was it only those seven?"

Michi leant in, a little confused. "What do you mean? Feeling the same way? About what?"

"Do you remember Yokomon, Michi?"

Michi was taken aback. "Well… a little. It was so long ago. I guess I never really could forget about her, but what does that have to do with this?"

While Michi was trying to make sense of it, Koji figured it out. He reached for the newspaper article. "Aha!" he shouted. Michi and Adam looked at him as he pointed at the article and smiled. "Both Ishida and Takaishi were outspoken critics of the recent U.N. policy concerning the Digital World!" 

Adam slowly nodded. "They weren't the only ones. I don't think any of the Chosen liked what was going on. The ones from Japan were the most vocal about it. But again… why those seven?"

Michi shook her head and frowned. "I don't see what this has to do with the fire."

Adam extended a hand to Koji, who responded by handing him the article. Adam glanced at it briefly before handing it to Michi. "Read this and tell me everything you know about the actual fire."

Michi read it through once. She wrinkled her face and read it again. Then she looked up at Adam. "Tenth floor of a Manhattan office building."

"It doesn't say anything about the fire," Koji said as he took the article back. He eyed it again, already knowing how little it would say. "That's what made me wonder about it to begin with."

"As far as we know, nobody witnessed it," Adam said, "Nobody witnessed an office building on fire… in Manhattan… on New Year's Eve." His voice grew louder as he went on.

Michi gasped. "Are you saying there was no fire?" she asked.

Adam stared at her. "It's definitely possible there was no fire."

"So what happened to them?" Koji asked, a little excited.

Adam remained firm and turned to Koji. "Look, this can't leave the room. But I think somebody thought those seven were in the way…" He lowered his voice to a whisper, "…and maybe they were sent to New York to be taken care of."

Michi's mouth opened wide, but she couldn't force anything out of it. Koji leaned back in his seat, silently nodding. 

Finally, Michi was able to blurt, "Are you saying my parents were murdered?" 

Koji leant forward and he and Adam immediately shushed her. She stood, outraged.

"Shh, what?! If this is what really happened I want everybody to know about it!" 

"No you don't," Adam replied. Koji stood and put a hand on her shoulder. Both served to calm her down. 

"Think about it Michi," Adam continued as both Michi and Koji sat back down, "If whoever did this was able to get away with it, they might have the power to silence others." He shook his head and stood. "I know I'm not the first person who thinks it wasn't a fire. The whole thing's too fishy for people not to be suspicious. But the key is that nobody talks about it. That's what keeps it from happening again."

"So…" Koji leant forward and continued cautiously, "Was that why you did all that schizo stuff when we got here?"

Adam nodded. "I don't know how closely they're watching us. I'm sure they're leery whenever the children of the Chosen meet, especially like this. That's what the party was for: it was a way for me to talk to Michi and her brothers without arousing suspicion."

"I can't believe I bought into it all," Michi said, her eyes transfixed on some indistinguishable point on the carpet, "I just believed whatever they told me."

"You were four years old, Michi. Besides, we're better off saying it was a fire. Heck, we're better off believing it was a fire too. It still might be, there's no proof either way."

Michi looked up at Adam. "What do you mean?"

"Look, as long as we don't open our mouths, we're fine. Whether or not there's some evil conspiracy tracking our movements, it doesn't matter. They're letting us live our lives normally. And since there's no way to get back anything we lost on December 31, 2028, there's no sense dwelling on it."

"Seriously?" Koji asked, "Somebody may have murdered your parents, and you want to let it all slide?"  

Adam sat back down and shook his head. "Don't you think it's in the best interest? If these guys can pass off the whole thing as a fire, and bend the truth like that… I don't want to have to try proving them wrong. Besides, fire or no fire, one fact still remains from all of this… our parents are dead. That's the heart of the matter, and it's true no matter how you look at it."

Nobody could respond. In the end, the math didn't matter because the answer was the same. Both Adam and Michi were silent. Koji's hands started to shake. He bit his lip. After a quick glance at the solemn pair sitting with him, he opened his mouth:

"But what if that wasn't true either?"

Koji immediately threw his eyes shut and braced for their reaction. He heard nothing. He opened his eyes in Michi's direction. She was still staring at the floor. But Adam had a questioning look in Koji's direction.

"What do you mean?" he asked slowly.

"What if they were still alive? But nobody knew about it?"

Adam shuffled in his chair. He shook his head, dismissing Koji's theory. "They're too smart for that. Whoever's behind this can get away with killing them. Why risk keeping them alive? Especially this group? If TK's book said nothing else, it's that keeping the Japanese Chosen alive is a bad idea when you're opposing them."

"What if they threw them in the Digital World?" Now Koji was eyeing the carpet alongside Michi.

Adam scoffed, "Digital World's been sealed off. Nobody gets in, nobody gets out."

"What if…" 

"Koji, you can believe whatever the heck you want," Adam interrupted, raising his voice, "It's all guesswork anyway. Don't bother thinking about stuff like that. It gives you a headache."

"But it's true." Koji stood suddenly, drawing Michi's eyes away from the floor. After a deep breath, Koji continued, "They're in the Digital World. They're all alive."

Adam narrowed his eyes. "How do you know?" 

Another deep breath later, Koji said, "Because I was there." Koji waited for the inevitable silence before he continued, "I lived with them for about two years. And except for them really missing their kids… they're fine."

First he looked at Michi. She was leaning back, awed by Koji's revelation. Adam, however, narrowed his eyes. 

"How'd you get out?" 

Koji anticipated the question and answered promptly, "Izzy found a way. It was something about how they couldn't because…"

"How'd you get in?" Adam asked, not reacting to Koji's first answer.

"Um…" Koji looked around. He wasn't going to find the answer on the walls of Adam's apartment. After four years, he hadn't found it anywhere. "I don't know," he replied, a little ashamed.

"Who are you?" Adam stood and slowly approached Koji. When Koji hesitated, he asked again, louder, "Who are you?!" 

"Wh… What do you mean?" Koji asked nervously.

Adam nodded, with a little bit of a snarl forming on his face. "I know who you are. You're some sort of a plant, aren't you?" He pointed a finger at Koji. "Yeah, you act all nice around Michi, and get her and me to shoot our mouths off. Then you say they're alive to get our reactions. Is that what this is?"

As Adam approached, Koji backed up. "What are you talking about?" he asked as his back ran into the wall.

"Michi!" Adam shouted, "Cover the door! We can't let him out!" 

Michi jumped up and hesitantly approached the two, easing her way to the door. "What?"

"We can't let him turn us in." As Michi continued to approach the door, Koji motioned toward her. Adam took another step forward in response, and shoved Koji's shoulder back into the wall. 

"We're going to deny it, you know," Adam said, his voice much higher than before, "It was a fire. Is that what you want to hear? It was a fire, we're sorry it happened, and there's nothing more to that. Is that okay??"

Before Koji could respond, Michi forced her way between him and Adam. She put her hands on each side of Koji's face and looked him directly in the eyes.

"Tell me the truth, Koji. You were in the Digital World?" 

Without a moments hesitation, he replied, "Yes."

"And you met my parents?"

"Yes."

"And they're alive in there and getting along fine."

"Yes, pretty much."

"And you got out and you're living as a normal kid in high school?"

Despite her hands holding his head in place, he was still able to nod. "Yeah. I'm through with all that. I'm not trying to mislead anybody. I'm still the same Koji Mathews you remember."

A moment later, she removed her hands, but her eyes didn't flinch.

"Where's the proof?" Adam folded his arms, still sounding skeptical.

Still averting Adam's eyes, he squirmed a little before answering, "I don't have any."

Adam took a step forward, almost knocking Michi aside. "Then you don't say anything about this until you do. And if you even think of telling anybody, you're going to be reunited with our parents."

Koji finally looked up at Adam's face. He was deadly serious. By Koji's best guess, Adam seemed willing to follow through on his threat. Michi took Koji's arm and began leading him to the door.

"Um… it was nice talking to you, Adam. I think we'd better go," she rambled as Koji followed her outside. 

Neither said a word until they reached the street and Michi called for a taxi. And Michi only spoke to Koji because he began to walk away from her.

"What's wrong?" she asked, alternating her view between Koji and the cabless street.

Koji sighed, not looking back. "I was dreading this day for two years. I knew it would come one day. I knew it was going to cause all sorts of trouble." He paused, shaking his head before continuing, "I just didn't think it would be this soon."

He continued walking. Adam didn't believe him. He knew Adam wouldn't believe him. But Koji was still saddled with the responsibility of telling the Chosen's children the truth... whether they believed him or not. It was an unfair responsibility. Koji wasn't about to shirk it; the Chosen had done far too much for him to go back on his word. But at this stage in his life, Koji wanted to be a normal kid, struggling with normal problems. Dispelling overwhelmingly powerful lies set forth by some equally powerful entity was not Koji's idea of normal.

A hand on his shoulder disrupted his thoughts.

"I believe you," Michi whispered as she released her hand and walked alongside him.

"Really?" Koji looked up at her. "Why? You've been told for years that..."

"Because I want to," Michi said as she faced him, "I want to believe you. It just... feels right. Somewhere in another world, my parents are alive and probably happy." 

She smiled again. "Thank you, Koji," she concluded, before facing forward.

"So where are you off to?" Koji replied, not acknowledging her gratitude.

Michi continued to smile. "I don't know. You?"

"Home I guess. It's about six blocks."

"I'll just walk with you then. It's too nice to be riding in a cab."

They remained silent as they passed a black sedan parked along the avenue. Neither of them saw the head poke out of the passenger-side window. A pair of binoculars offered a clear view of Michi and Koji quietly walking down the road. A hand lowered the binoculars, giving the eyes behind it a naked view of the pair.

"Takato..." she whispered.  
  
**To Be Continued in "Stage Three- History"**

**Author's Notes  
**Well, about half of you got it. Hopefully it's now obvious who Koji is to those who read Level 1. More on that next stage. I won't give anything away to those who haven't read Level 1, since it makes things all the more mysterious.  
  
Yes, Matt's still an astronaut. Like I said- canon ending. He explains it all thoroughly in Level 1, Stage Four.  
  
For the newcomers, one thing I will say about the use of the word Chosen: in Level 1, it was established that back in the day when everybody had a Digimon partner, everybody could have been considered a "digi-destined" and the term lost all denotative meaning. The original digi-destined who were tapped before the whole MaloMyotismon thing became known as Chosen.   
  
This ends Level 2: Stage Two of The Connection.


	3. History

**_Level 2- Children_****_  
_**_  
Adam Fisher- Age 23  
Born to Steve and Kari Fisher on September 13, 2016  
Graduate student in college  
Currently living in Brooklyn, New York  
  
_**Stage Three- History  
  
**Mimi could have sworn she had put the dishes away hours ago. But there they were, undisturbed in the dishwasher after their cleansing the previous night. What should have been the simple task of putting a dirty glass in the tray had turned into yet another chore for her to complete before preparing dinner. She set the glass on the counter and began putting away cutlery.

Before she could move on to the plates, the phone rang. She stood, walked to it, and answered.

"Hi, is Michi there?" said the boy on the other end.

Mimi smiled and replied, "Hold on, I'll get her." 

She covered the mouthpiece and called out to her stepdaughter in the living room. Michi, attention diverted from the cartoon on TV, entered the kitchen.

"It's a boy," Mimi said, adding a wink.

"Shut up, Mom," Michi replied with a smile, taking the phone away.

Mimi continued to unload the dishwasher, but kept her ears on the conversation. It wasn't the first time Michi had received a call from a boy, but Michi consistently turned down all previous offers for a date.

She wasn't just avoiding the company of men. Michi had few friends of either gender, preferring mostly to spend time with Kori and Tony. Mimi wasn't surprised that Michi was a bit of a loner; she was the daughter of Matt Ishida, after all. But Mimi could never quite understand the bond Michi formed with her brothers. Of course, Mimi was virtually an only child. Her lone brother was born while she was in high school. But while he had been a major pain in the last few years she spent living with her parents, as well as the source of a minor factual error in one of TK Takaishi's books, he had no real influence on her life.

Perhaps it was the Takaishi in Michi that formed her strong fraternal bond. Nevertheless, Mimi secretly hoped Michi would branch out and socialize with other girls and boys. Michi's eagerness to take the phone call offered some hope.

"Mom, can Koji come over?" Michi asked. 

Mimi closed the now-empty dishwasher and smiled. "Sure. He can even stay for dinner. Your dad's working late, but I'd love to meet your friend."

Michi spoke with Koji for a moment before asking her stepmother, with a slight tone of disgust, "Is Tony going to be here?"

"Of course," Mimi replied, a little confused. 

Michi concluded her conversation and hung up. Before heading back into the living room, she said, "You're not going to regret this, Mom." 

Now Mimi was really curious. It was one thing for Michi to be bringing guests to the dinner table. But how was the mother going to benefit? Mimi knew very little about Koji. Tony told her about Koji's effort to get information about the fire that killed several of her friends years ago. And while her husband was concerned, Mimi didn't care. Michael was the one who didn't want the family discussing the incident. Mimi was quietly thrilled that someone had taken such a deep interest in it, and that Michi wasn't afraid to try to find out the truth.

Mimi followed Michi into the living room. That was when she noticed that Michi and Kori were watching a rerun of the old Digimon cartoon. Both of the kids stared at the screen as Takuya completed his transformation into Agunimon.

"Since when did you two start watching this?" Mimi asked, leaning forward and resting her arms on the back of the couch.

"I don't know. It's interesting…" Kori replied, not taking his eyes off the television.

Mimi frowned as Zoe began her transformation sequence. "I don't remember TK having such an active imagination." The cartoon was based on one of TK's most popular novels. After his death, the conversion rights quickly found their way into corporate hands. When a new public interest in Digimon surfaced a few years after the Sealing, the cartoon debuted and spread the myth of the Digital World to children everywhere.

"So Uncle TK just made this up completely?" Kori asked, finally taking his eyes away from the screen and turning toward Mimi.

"Most of it. You can see some of his influences in there. Takuya for example…" Mimi looked at the TV in time to see Agunimon turn back into the goggle-laden leader. "Based very much around Davis."

"No way, I remember Davis," Michi said, shaking her head. "No way Davis ever acted like that."

Mimi laughed a little. "Oh yes he did. And I can see a lot of your father in Koji."

Kori turned to his sister. "Speaking of Koji, what time's he coming over?" 

In all the excitement of Adam threatening to kill him, Koji had forgotten the gifts the Chosen had given him years ago. Most important were the letters each of them had written to their families. They were the proof Adam was demanding. Clutching the sealed envelopes addressed to Michi and Kori, Koji rang the doorbell. 

Mimi answered it and immediately smiled. "You must be Koji, right?" As soon as Koji nodded, she ushered him inside. "Michi's told me… well, she's told me almost nothing about you, but I'm sure you're nice."

"Um… thanks Mrs. Grant."

"Please, call me Mimi!" She exclaimed, extending a hand to Koji.

For a second, Koji was tempted to hand her his jacket and go about his task of delivering the letters. In truth, her presence was overwhelming. He knew she was another Chosen- the famed Mimi Tachikawa, bearer of the Crest of Sincerity. Koji was about to drop a bombshell by confirming that her old friends were still alive; Mimi witnessing it was yet another reason to be nervous.

Furthermore, she still looked too young. Koji remembered that Mimi was ten during her first adventure in the Digital World forty years earlier. By Koji's best guess, she only looked thirty-five.

"ARS." Kori whispered, startling Koji. The Ishida kids had snuck up to Koji while he was staring at Mimi walking back into the kitchen. 

"What was that?" 

"That's why she looks so young. She got that surgery a few years ago," Kori explained, a little sadly.

Koji understood why it pained Kori to say it. Koji had read about the Age-Reduction Surgery before. It was apparently popular among television and movie stars decades ago- an all-inclusive cosmetic procedure that made the subject look fifteen years younger. But as the long-term side effects began to take hold, the "miracle operation" ultimately did more harm than good. Mimi may have looked thirty-five, but if all the reports were true, she felt like she was sixty.

"You sounded really excited on the phone," Michi said enthusiastically as she led Koji into the living room. "Did you find proof?" she asked hopefully.

Koji smiled and began to pull out the letters. Any concern about Mimi would have to wait. 

He hesitated for a moment when he saw Tony descending the staircase. The two made eye contact; and Koji could sense the hostility on Tony's face. But before Koji could say anything, Tony silently went into the kitchen.

"Proof of what?" Kori asked. 

Koji turned to him. Obviously, Michi had been very careful about following Adam's demands and not telling anybody, not even her brother. He eyed the letters carefully, but yet another interruption from Tony prevented him from handing them over.

"But Mom!" Tony left the kitchen, whining about something.

"The store's only three blocks away. You'll be back in fifteen minutes," Mimi said, following her son out to the foyer, even going so far as to remove Tony's jacket from the coat rack. 

He angrily took it away from her. "Can't you get Kori to do it?"

"Quit complaining or I'll send you to get dinner too." 

Koji saw Michi smile as Tony gave up and stormed out. Obviously, she knew whose side Mimi was on.

"Now," Mimi said, clasping her hands together and turning to the living room trio, "Anything I can get you kids?"

Koji smiled and stared at the letters again. With Mimi removing Tony from the picture, she was giving Koji the go-ahead. 

"You may need to get a box of Kleenex. I don't know what they wrote," Koji said, handing a letter each to Kori and Michi. 

Kori analyzed the penmanship on the envelope. Only his name was written on it. "What's this?"

Michi turned from her letter to Koji repeatedly. "Are these from..."

"Your parents," Koji said. He eyed Mimi, whose mouth fell open. She joined Michi and Kori as they opened the envelopes.

_"Dear Michi- I don't know what they told you, and I don't know how much you knew about us. But regardless of what you heard, and regardless of when you get this, the only thing you need to know is that your father and I are very much alive, and very comfortable here in the Digital World." _

Michi wasn't making use of the Kleenex yet, but her hand trembled as she read the letter. She could have reached for the box at any moment.

Kori was already drying his eyes as he read the letter from Matt.

"Koji, this is… this is incredible," Michi said, setting down the letter for a moment to look up at him. 

Kori started sobbing again. "It's just that… all those lies they told us. About the fire? Why?"

Mimi sat down next to Kori and wrapped her arms around him. She said nothing, instead staring solemnly at a window.

Koji also remained silent. He knew this was a personal moment, and although he was the messenger, he still felt like he was intruding. He continued to watch Michi. She never shed a tear, but he could tell her mother's words were going straight to her heart.

"I just wish I could see them," she said, "Tell them we're all right, and what we're doing with ourselves. It's sad that we'll still never get to see them again."

"But they are alive," Koji reiterated, "That's the most important thing."

Abruptly, Mimi stood and went into the kitchen. Michi watched her leave before turning back to Koji. "It's probably just as emotional for her. She was a lot closer to our parents than we were."

Rather than responding, Koji followed Mimi. Michi was right- the news had to affect Mimi as much as it did her stepchildren. Not only that, but there was still the underlying mystery of why it was just those seven.

Koji entered, but no question seemed appropriate. Mimi was seated at the kitchen table, her head buried in her arms, crying harder and longer than either Kori or Michi.

He waited a minute, but her tears did not stop. He took a step toward her. "Mimi? Are you okay?"

"I should have stuck with them… I wanted to… I really did," she sobbed, "I'm sorry. I let all of them down…"

Koji was tempted to say something about how well she raised Kori and Michi, but he knew it wouldn't help. He still didn't know enough about them, and he still didn't know how Mimi could have changed her fate. 

He left Mimi to her tears and motioned for the living room. But by then, Tony had returned, carrying a carton of milk and two loaves of bread. Kori was quick to deliver the news, to which Tony reacted with a disgusted glare. Before Koji could hide in the kitchen, Tony called him out and demanded an explanation. 

Koji told Tony and Kori the whole story as best as he could. The letters were enough to convince Kori that it was true, but Koji still had no answer for the big question- how did he get in to begin with?

"How can you two believe this guy so easily? You don't think he could just be playing a joke?" Tony narrowed his eyes. "Or worse? Maybe this is a set-up."

Michi didn't hesitate, replying, "Stop it. I trust him."

"I wouldn't. Remember what Dad said, we'll get into trouble if we…"

"If we what, Tony? Keep pretending they died in a fire? Admit it, the whole thing is suspicious." 

Tony turned away, his hand clenched in a fist. His head was shaking, and he opened his mouth several times as if to say something. But each time, he failed to let something out.

"It's okay, Tony," Kori said, "I know Michi and I are taking a chance in trusting him, but we are. So why can't you?"

"It's not just him!" Tony shouted at Kori, "How do you know somebody else isn't listening?! If he's not trying to pin us on something, somebody else is!" 

"Tony…" None of the four saw Mimi enter the living room until she walked up to her son and placed a hand on his shoulder. "It's okay. You may be right. We're risking a lot. But right now we have to." She continued to stroke Tony's shoulder. "There's a lot we don't know about Koji, but if Michi thinks we should trust him, then let's trust him."

Mimi looked up at Koji, flashing that same smile she used to greet him at the door. 

"Hey, Koji?" Koji looked over at Kori, who had returned his attention to the letter, "One more question- you said you were in there with our parents, right?"

"Yeah?"

"Who's this Takato person Dad mentions? Dad says he was the one in there."

All eyes fell on Koji, and he nodded sadly. He knew it was going to come up. It was another reason he was so hesitant. But his credibility was too important to lie to Kori. "Matt's talking about me. I'm Takato."

Tony turned to Koji, eager to jump on the revelation. "So Koji isn't even your real name? I should have figured," he said, disapprovingly.

"It's my real name now. When I got back, Dwayne said it would be best if I changed it. Just to make sure nobody was following me or anything." Koji looked back up. "I guess he figured someone might be watching me just like they might be watching you."

"If you came out of the Digital World, that wouldn't surprise me," Mimi said.

Koji stepped back and sat in the chair behind him. "At that point, I wanted nothing more than to start over. I saw this as my chance to forget about everything Takato went through and begin a new life as Koji Mathews."

"What did Takato..." Kori stopped and corrected himself, "Er, what did you go through?"

Koji hesitated. His life as Takato was over and he had no desire to try to recall it. Takato's final months before entering the Digital World were something he wanted to forget about forever. 

"I don't want to remember," he finally answered, "But it's all over. I left Takato in the Digital World… he'd be happier there anyway." 

"Well, Koji, you'd better find Takato again," Mimi said. 

Koji looked up at her. His news about her friends had driven her to tears. His confession about a former identity, and all the deceptions that came with his new one, were still on her mind. And yet Mimi was wearing a grim smile.

"Why?"

"Because Takato has five more letters to deliver."

Neither Michi nor Kori reacted much to the news about "Takato." Koji expected them to disapprove, but his reasoning must have been accepted. As Mimi prepared dinner, Koji entertained questions about the lives of Matt and Sora Ishida in the Digital World. Mimi was as interested as her stepchildren; although dinner was her top priority, she took every opportunity she could to join them in the living room.

Koji did the best he could. His experience in the Digital World was still somewhat fresh in his mind. And the two years he spent there had been generally positive. But they were still Takato's years. As enjoyable as they were, Koji wanted to distance himself as much as he could from anything that happened before he came to New York.

Eventually, he ran out of stories. But having shared his history, he felt it appropriate to ask Mimi about the history of the Chosen. In the Digital World, the past was never brought up. But now that Koji had given the family his past, he finally raised the ultimate question- how did December 31, 2028 happen?

Mimi probably wasn't the best person to ask. But she was the only one willing to answer. She told Koji of the first quarter of the century. "The Digimon Age," she called it. For a span of 25 years, everybody on Earth had a Digimon partner, and each person was free to make their partner a major part of their life, or ignore it completely and let it roam wild in the Digital World. 

While access to the Digital World was strictly regulated, nobody could control the Digimon presence in the real world. Digimon were loyal to their human companions, adopting both their good and bad behavior. Mimi explained that while most humans who kept Digimon around the house were responsible, there were obvious exceptions. The troublemakers represented a very small percentage of the population, but their antics were reported constantly. It wasn't long before the world's perception of Digimon grew increasingly negative.

"Then there was Daemon," Mimi explained.

Over those 25 years, he attacked twice- in 2015 and in 2027. The first time, a kid living in the Digital World noted his presence. Digi-destined around the world, including several of the Japanese Chosen, contained him in the Digital World and sealed him away. But word spread about the threat he could have posed, and Digimon were viewed as more than just troublesome- they were now potentially dangerous. 

A few tricks helped improve their reputation. "PR maneuvers," Mimi called them. She said that Kari helped to orchestrate events like TK Takaishi's books about the Japanese Chosen and Matt Ishida and Gabumon's Mars landing. Digimon also gained some political power when they were allowed to elect their own representative in the United Nations. They elected Tai Kamiya, but even he wasn't enough after June 9, 2027. 

"I was on a plane heading back to New York. I was taping my cooking show on location that week, and I was really looking forward to coming home again. I knew Daemon had attacked again, but the battle was still in the Digital World, and I figured whatever digi-destined were in there were taking care of it. I wasn't even thinking about it when the pilot said the flight was being redirected to Philly. But when the lady sitting next to me got a call on her cell phone and told me the city was being evacuated… I knew Daemon was involved.

"When we landed, I got the news that he was forcing his way into the real world. They were able to figure out where he'd break through, but they were unable to stop it. Naturally, the first thing I did was call ahead and make sure Tony was alright." Mimi stopped at looked up at her son. She had told him the story before, but he was still hanging on her every word. Mimi continued, "The sitter was taking care of him, and getting out of there like everybody else. I knew Tony was going to be fine."

"So what then?" Michi asked.

"Then I did what everybody else should have done. I got Palmon out of the Digital World, rented a car, and sped up I-95 to join the battle." She paused and looked around the table. Koji was smiling. Years after her original adventures, Mimi was still a genuine hero.

However, her courage was not the point of the story: "The scary thing about it all was that we did everything about as effectively as possible. The evacuation was handled pretty well. We dealt with Daemon as well as we could, given our numbers. And I'd hate to think of what would have happened if Izzy hadn't figured out Daemon was heading to New York and took the appropriate action. But it was still awful. Downtown Manhattan was a bad place for a battle like that. We did what we could to limit the destruction. And the death toll could have been much, much worse. But in the end, all that mattered was the billions of dollars of damage and the seven-hundred people killed."

No PR maneuver could help redeem Digimon after that, Mimi continued to explain. Tai had tried to establish that Daemon was an unusual element- one bad element in a realm of goodness. But the damage had already been done. Everywhere, especially in America, it was no longer appropriate to have a Digimon around. Suddenly, anyone who kept their partner in the real world was ostracized, hated, and considered un-American for keeping a pet capable of such destruction.

Most of the Chosen had stubbornly refused to go along with popular opinion, especially the Japanese. But they paid for it in their social standing. Mimi's cooking show was cancelled. "Low ratings," they told her, but she, like everybody, knew the real reason. 

Still, Tai continued to fight for the Digimon in the political arena. Several calls came up to banish them from the real world completely, but Tai held his ground, and for more than a year he was able to rally enough support to keep the gate between the worlds open. 

However, on October 2, 2028, a bitter twist of fate destroyed all hope- when a wild Digimon broke into the real world, ending Tai's life before it could be subdued.

The "wild ones" that would infrequently "bio-emerge" into the real world were used as one of the stronger arguments against Tai. The only person who denied the danger the incidents presented was killed by one. All political support suddenly vanished and the UN voted to seal off the Digital World completely before the year was over.

"But what about the Chosen? Couldn't they open a gate anyway?" Koji asked.

Mimi nodded. "Everybody in the world had to hand over their digivice. Really, they only needed them from the Chosen. Most agreed. They made deals, got caught up in the politics of it, some didn't want to put their reputation on the line… however it happened, most of them gave in."

"I take it Mom and Dad didn't?" Kori guessed.

"We were getting phone calls, e-mails, and all sorts of nasty threats, but most of the Japanese Chosen held their ground. Not all of them though…" Mimi said, with a tone of guilt, "Yolei and Ken had just had another kid. She said she got a really nasty letter one day and… well, she couldn't take the chance with the baby around." Koji's eyes grew wider as she went on, "Davis was too far up in his business. He knew that if he fell, thousands of people would fall with him." 

She stopped and closed her eyes. There was one more, but she said nothing until Koji prompted Mimi for her own reason.

"I promised myself I wouldn't give in. But Michael was very passionate about it. He said it wasn't safe to defy the orders, and that there would be consequences against those did." Mimi looked up at the four faces in front of her. "After a couple weeks of screaming… I backed down." She had to pause and hold back tears before she could continue.

"On December 31, the gate was shut and Digimon were no longer a part of the world. But by then, everybody had stopped caring." As she continued, she could no longer restrain them, "And those seven, the ones that never gave up until the very end… what did they get to show for it? None of us ever thought it was really a fire. But even if they were killed… nobody cared. Raising a fuss about it wasn't going to help, because the same thing could have happened to us. And for all I know, it still can."

"That's right," Tony said, nervously eyeing the others, "Dad said that's why we can't talk about this."

With her napkin, Mimi began drying her tears. "He's right, Tony. It's very dangerous to get the wrong idea about what went on that night."

Still looking at his mother, Tony pointed to Koji. "So why the heck is he still here?"

"Because I know the truth," Koji said, boldly, "I know that those seven are still alive and those letters are the proof. It's not much, but I think the people that were close to them deserve to know what really happened."

"So why didn't you mail them out as soon as you got back?" Tony asked, now glaring at Koji.

Mimi answered for Koji, "Because it's not safe to mail them. Michael knew some of the people in charge of the Sealing. He heard they're still watching us. Phone calls, mail, whatever we do online… they always try to keep tabs on the Chosen. Just to make sure we don't get out of hand."

"So how do I get these letters out?" Koji asked.

"Hand-delivered," Michi whispered, prompting the others to look at her. She looked up at Koji. "Besides, they'd want an explanation. And they'd have questions, like what their parents are doing. They'd want to hear stories. Koji, there's no other way to do it."

Koji shook his head. Michi was reaching a little far, and he had to flatly renounce his ambition. "Well, I don't plan on going to Japan anytime soon. I can talk to Adam next week, but the other four are…"

"What are you doing for spring break? That is in a couple weeks, right?" Mimi interrupted, smiling as if Koji's last statement flew harmlessly over her head.

"Well… nothing…" Koji looked over and saw Michi's face creep into a smile.

"Can I go too?!" she shouted excitedly.

Tony put his hands up. "Hold on a minute, you can't possibly be thinking about…" 

Mimi nodded at Koji. "Koji, I know it may be a little risky, but this is something that needs to get out. And Michi's right, the best way to do it is in person. If you want, I can take care of everything."

"Please, can I go too?" Michi asked again, just as excited.

"It would be less suspicious," Kori added, not looking up from his dinner plate, "I mean, someone Koji's age traveling overseas by himself… that would seem a little strange."

Michi began nodding. "Yeah, but if I went... you know, two teens spending spring break in Japan… sounds like fun!" 

Mimi scratched her chin. Then she smiled. "Well, Michi, if you really want to… I guess you're old enough to make your own decisions." She turned to Koji. "Koji? It's up to you."

Koji took a deep breath. Not only was Mimi entrusting him with the duty of distributing the truth, she was entrusting him with Michi. He was being asked to unmask lies perpetuated by some worldly force with unknown influence. But as much as he wanted to leave Takato Matsuki behind him, he still felt an obligation. The seven had given Takato so much; it was time for Koji to repay the debt.

"Let me talk to Dwayne," he said.

Koji did not tell Dwayne his specific intentions. Ever since the day he had come back from the Digital World, Dwayne had kept Koji from telling anybody about it. Therefore, Koji tested out Michi's idea of "two friends on spring break." He figured it was better to verify its effectiveness as a cover story before they left.

Dwayne, ultimately, wasn't the best person to test it on. He was very hesitant about Koji going back to Japan. Afraid that Koji would "get into trouble" and "do something stupid," Dwayne almost refused to allow it. But Koji continued to plead his case, until he finally realized that Dwayne really had no say in the matter. When Koji announced that it was out of Dwayne's hands, Dwayne gave up.

As the vacation week approached, Koji soon discovered how fortunate he was to be making the trip. Koji's friends at school were all envious. Not only was Koji spending a week in Japan, he was spending it with a girl from Staten Island. For fear that his friends would become so jealous they'd never speak to him again, Koji didn't dare mention that the girl's mother was not only paying for the trip, she was also handling the work of buying plane tickets and reserving a hotel room. 

Somewhere in that time, Koji delivered Kari's letter to Adam and Mr. Fisher. With one of the recipients being his teacher, Koji was careful to plan things so he could deliver the letter without classroom influence. 

Adam was shocked to see the letter. When Mr. Fisher confirmed that it was indeed Kari's handwriting on the pages, Adam had the proof he was looking for. Adam confessed that he never really believed Koji. However, the letter was not only proof that his mother was alive, but proof that everything his mother stood for still existed in a precious few like Koji. 

That compliment, in turn, had changed Koji. Before he delivered Kari's letter, he was more concerned that he would single himself out in the eyes of his history teacher. Now, he understood how significant the letters were. They were more than the words of family members to estranged loved ones. They were, in essence, the spirits of the original digi-destined.

Mimi happily made the arrangements for the trip. In fact, she felt obligated to. While seven of the Chosen were unable to influence the decision to seal the Digital World, they still made a statement by refusing to give in to threat. It was something Mimi was unable to do. In the years spent thinking the seven were killed for standing up to authority, Mimi had little regret. She was sorry she caved in, but she had no guilt about remaining alive because of it. 

Koji's story had changed everything. The seven defiant Chosen were no longer martyrs in a winless battle. According to Koji, they were still alive and living comfortably in the Digital World. Even though Mimi was sure they missed their families, the price they paid suddenly seemed so much more affordable. Staying alive was nothing to feel guilty about, but somehow her present situation was. It wasn't that she was unhappy with her life, but her friends had sacrificed the association with their families. Why shouldn't Mimi have done the same?

At least she had the ability to make up for it. By arranging the trip, she could at least pave Koji's quest to inform the families. She was spending more than a thousand dollars and countless hours on it. While it wasn't the same sacrifice the seven had made, at least Mimi could take comfort in making her own small contribution.

"I like this hotel. My parents always stayed there whenever we went to Japan," she told Michi and Koji, sifting through papers on the kitchen table.

"So where do they all live? This hotel's in Odaiba, so how far are they?" Michi asked, setting down a map of Tokyo with the hotel starred in blue pen.

"Well, that's a problem. It's been so long since I've talked to those four families that I don't know if they're living in the same place. Most of them were in Odaiba, I can tell you that much."

"You can't call or e-mail them?" Koji suggested.

Mimi shook her head. "That's asking for trouble. Asking for those four addresses is bound to be suspicious. But once you get there, there shouldn't be a problem finding them if you look them up yourself. The hotel comes with a free internet connection!"

"Great. I'll bring my laptop," Michi said.

"Mimi…" Mimi's eyes closed as she heard that voice in that tone. It was Michael. He didn't sound happy. "Can I talk to you for a moment?"

Without saying a word, she stood and joined her husband in the living room. She walked by him, brushing against his shoulder as she indignantly sat on the couch.

"The plane tickets and hotel room is reserved, so it's too late," she said, folding her arms.

Michael rubbed his eyes with his left hand. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Already well aware of his frustration, Mimi restrained the laughter that wanted to leave her mouth. She looked away quickly and frowned. Nothing was funny about Michael's stance on the issue. "Because you would have said no."

"Of course I would have said no!" Michael walked into Mimi's view and continued shouting, "How can you just ignore the risk you're putting on all of us, especially Michi?!"

"Well, how can you ignore everything that's going on just because you're afraid of a little risk?"

"There's a difference between taking chances and throwing yourself into a trap. I don't trust Koji. He might have sweet-talked Michi into believing him, but I'm surprised you're this gullible."

Mimi stood suddenly, forcing him back. She continued to walk toward him, prompting him to continue backpedaling. "You know I am feeling gullible. I'm gullible because I spent twelve years thinking that all of my friends were dead because they stood up for what they believed in."

"Why fight something that can't be won? They knew there would be consequences."

"But they didn't know what the consequences would be. How could they? Hell, until Koji got here, we didn't even know the consequences! But now that we do, those other families need to know the truth."

"What difference does it make?!" Michael continued to shout, and his tone forced Mimi to step back. "You're just causing them more grief by raising the issue again! Why go to all this trouble for a lost cause?"

"You didn't see the looks on Michi and Kori's faces when they found out. You should have seen me! Michael, they're alive. And it's a crime that nobody knows that."

"It doesn't change anything." Michael shook his head.

"It changes everything," Mimi replied, but softly. When she stepped forward, Michael didn't budge. Their faces were only four inches apart as she continued, "Because if I knew that refusing to hand in my digivice would mean spending the rest of my life in the Digital World… I would have stayed with them."

Michael didn't flinch for a moment. Rather, he continued to stare into Mimi's eyes. Despite his stone appearance, she could tell she got through to him. Years of marriage had given her a good indication of when he was about to break down. 

She was still caught off guard when he violently shoved her back onto the couch. Mimi took a moment to regain her ability to breathe before looking back up at him. Michael hadn't moved any further. His face remained frozen in an icy stare.

"Hypocrite," he muttered, "Now that somebody tells you they're alive, you suddenly regret not going with them. You know there's more to life than being alive."

"You call me a hypocrite?" Mimi slowly rose to her feet. The accusation against her was already forgotten. Words did not pass through mirrors. "You, the head of a Digimon Advisory Board, opposing the movement to give Digimon the right to elect their own representative? You, who appointed yourself their representative after Tai died, and then voted to seal them away? And when the American Chosen were told to submit their digivice, you refused to give them a choice." 

Michael still didn't react. He couldn't. Mimi knew he couldn't deny any of her charges. In fact, until she spat them back in his face, he was probably proud of them. Her point was already made. She had only one thing more to say to him:

"Fuck you."

She wanted to slap him, but she knew better. It wasn't his fault. He had merely succumbed to the pressures of a population. Most of mankind was biased towards mankind. The presence Digimon had in the real world was never about a mutual relationship- it was about humans ensuring a peaceful existence with dangerous creatures around. This perception was the problem. Michael was never the enemy. He merely shaped his opinions around his own kind. And after decades spent refereeing the Digital World and the political world, he never considered the needs and wants of the creatures he was supposed to be representing. 

Mimi turned around and went back into the kitchen. She had won the argument. After more than twenty-five years, she had finally won the argument pitting her against her nation. Now she had a trip to plan.

The train sped into the outskirts of Tokyo as Michi and Koji held their breath. The outskirts were as crowded and frenzied as their homes in the middle of the urban wilderness. They were fortunate to find seats on the train, but the unlucky masses standing in the aisles were increasing the discomfort. Koji had Japanese roots- his desire to forget his past did not mean he could ignore his fifteen years in Japan. But he cut those roots when he left, and he had to admit his sudden re-entry into the city was leaving him stumped. Nevertheless, he and Michi were determined to successfully reach the hotel before sundown.

Getting off the train from Narita Airport wasn't the problem. They were able to figure out the best station to exit. It was transferring to the proper subway that was giving them grief. They refused to get lost the first day, and skipped several trains until they could be sure of the one that led them to Odaiba.

"I'm going to ask for help. We can't take chances," Michi concluded. Koji nodded slowly as he continued to pore over the giant city-wide map. He heard her sneakers take a few bold steps over the tiled floor, followed by a crash. Koji turned as soon as he heard her and her luggage hit the ground. 

"Oh God, I'm sorry!" The boy who had run into her was bowing repeatedly. He appeared the same age as Michi. He was her height, with short bluish-gray hair. He seemed more shaken than Michi. 

Michi laughed. She had landed on her rear, and her hands resting on the baggage had cushioned the fall. "It's alright." 

She extended her hands out to the boy, who stopped bowing long enough to help her to her feet. 

"Are you okay?" Koji asked Michi.

She didn't look up at Koji, choosing instead to focus on dusting off the rear of her blue jeans, "I'm fine," she said obligingly.

"Sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going. I thought I was going to miss my train…" the boy watched as a nearby train pulled away from the station, "It was the wrong one anyway. I need to catch the next one."

"Hey, do you know the best train to central Odaiba?" Koji asked.

The boy perked up immediately. He smiled as he walked past Koji to the map and quickly explained the proper route. It included two transfers and a short walk; Koji was glad he asked.

Michi smiled, slinging her second and final bag around her shoulder. "Thanks. What's your name?"

He smiled and extended a hand. "Chiaki. And it's no trouble. The subway system is really remarkable when you're familiar with it, but I can see how it gives foreigners a headache."

"You can tell we're from overseas?" Koji asked as he shook Chiaki's outstretched hand.

Chiaki nodded, never losing his smile. "It's pretty obvious. So where in America are you from?"

"New York," Koji replied, "My name's Koji, Koji Mathews." 

Before he could introduce Michi, she took the liberty herself. "I'm Michi. Pretty good that you could pick us off as Americans. Both of my parents, and both of his parents were Japanese."

Chiaki hand fell to the back of the neck, and he bashfully replied, "Yeah, well I'm kinda interested in being a detective. I'm learning how to observe people and stuff."

"Well, you're doing well so far," Koji responded. 

Koji looked over at Michi, but her face told him nothing about what she was thinking. Meanwhile, he was thinking of finding out how good a detective this Chiaki was.

"You're into detective work, huh? We're here visiting some friends, but we weren't able to get their addresses." 

Michi frowned immediately. Koji could tell by the look in her eyes that she didn't approve of his question. But she quickly looked back at Chiaki and smiled.

"Yeah, it's a bit of a surprise. We tried looking online, but we couldn't find anything."

Chiaki raised his thin eyebrows. "Hey, I'd be happy to see if I can help you. There should be an internet terminal around. What are their names?"

Rather than answering out loud, Koji set one of his bags down and dug through it until he produced the names of the four children. He gave it to Chiaki.

The eroding smile on Chiaki's face made Koji nervous. Chiaki slowly said, "I recognize some of these last names. They're um…"

"Yeah," Michi blurted, preventing him from saying the C-word. 

"Don't suppose you know where they live?" Koji asked, nervously.

Chiaki returned the list. "I don't. But I have a friend whose Dad was a, uh… you know."

He took a moment to think about something. Koji and Michi were still nervous, but now a little hope crept in.

"How about if I arranged a meeting between you three?" Chiaki concluded.

"With who?" Michi asked, the hope in her voice starting to conquer the hesitation.

"His name is Kensuke Motomiya. I used to work with him. If anybody knows where your friends live, he does."

"And you… can help us meet him?"

"I can try." Chiaki raised a finger. "I don't guarantee anything. I'll try to get a hold of him tonight. If nothing else, I'll see about getting the addresses of some of those names on your list."

"That's great!" Koji exclaimed. "What should we do?"

"How about I meet you for lunch tomorrow? You said you'd be in Odaiba? Let's say we'll meet at the C.G.Y. at eleven. Do you have C.G.Y. in New York?"

"Of course!" Michi replied. The noodle franchise was popular all over the world. New York was no exception.

"It's a date then." Chiaki smiled, and looked over at a station platform. "Well, you'd better get to your platform. You don't want to miss your train!"

Koji shook Chiaki's hand one more time. "Thank you, Chiaki. Good luck with talking to him."

"Yeah, like I said, I can't guarantee anything, but I'll do my best."

Leaving Chiaki behind, Koji and Michi wheeled their luggage to the platform. Michi sat down as they waited for the next train.

"Man, I hope he pulls through. That would be a great break," Koji said, watching Chiaki walk away in the distance.

Michi shook her head. "You know, you should be more careful who you show those names to. The fewer the better."

"Hey, we got somewhere, didn't we?"

"I don't know if that's good luck or bad luck. I mean, the first guy that bumps into me is supposedly friends with Kensuke Motomiya. I know, Chiaki seems harmless, but we don't know who we can trust here."

"It's not like he ran into you on purpose."

She grimly shook her head. "You don't know that for sure!"

Koji smiled and sat next to her. "Don't worry about it. There's no way somebody like Chiaki could be secretly plotting against us. We'll be fine."

"I'm not worried," she clarified, "I just think we should be a little discerning next time we ask for help."

"Hey, if Chiaki pulls through, we won't need to ask for help!" 

Michi broke into a smile. "Look, if Chiaki is able to deliver Kensuke, then yeah, we don't have to worry. I just want you to realize that if it's a set-up or something… we have to be prepared."

"Fine, but I think all we need to worry about right now is Chiaki coming through for us," he stood as the train pulled into the station. Michi's concern was probably well-warranted, but Koji wasn't about to spend the trip in a needless paranoia. He trusted Chiaki as much as he needed to. In the meantime, he was more concerned about what to do with the eighteen hours until the lunch meeting.

Michi followed Koji into the train. "Well, it's the first day. We shouldn't take too many chances."

"I agree. How about some sightseeing after we check into the hotel?"

Michi smiled at Koji. "Just what I was thinking. Nothing else to do tonight anyway."

"Michi, Michi, Michi…" Chiaki smiled and shook his head at her skepticism. He was a little disappointed at her lack of faith in him, but was pleased for another reason- the bug was working effectively. All through their conversation, he was worried that it fell on her luggage instead of her blouse. Either way, it was picking up the discussion from the opposite train platform perfectly. Chiaki needed to remain close to it to pick up its signal on his small earpiece. But it wouldn't matter- wherever it was, it was bound to be discovered. Fortunately, it was small enough to pass off as a speck of dirt; Michi would flick it away just the same. The little gizmo had served its main purpose. As a future detective, he had to have the appropriate cool equipment.

He was distracted from his eavesdropping by the ring of his cell phone. Chiaki set the earpiece aside and answered it.

"Did you meet up with them?" the man on the other end asked.

"Yeah. Everything went perfectly. The bug works. Heck, the guy even asked me to find the addresses himself!" Chiaki replied confidently. 

"Good job, Chiaki. So you set everything up the way we wanted?"

Chiaki grinned. "Sure did. They know Kensuke's a definite maybe. We can feed them as much or as little as we want."

"Did you find out what they're doing here?"

Immediately, Chiaki frowned. "You didn't tell me you wanted me to find that out."

On the other side of the conversation, the man quickly reassured Chiaki, "I didn't. I was just wondering if they spilled something accidentally."

"No. But after I left, they were talking about doing something. They're definitely here for a reason."

"Okay…" the man huffed, "We need to get them to show us their cards before we play. And before they find who they're looking for."

"So what do we do? Do we give them Kensuke?"

"Better- we'll get them to plead their case… to Davis."

Chiaki repeated the name, almost in awe. "D… Davis?"

"Let's see what he thinks. I have to go. Once again, great work."

The caller hung up, but Chiaki was too busy staring at the phone to notice. Suddenly Davis was involved. This was much bigger than he had originally thought.

Michi was pleasantly exhausted by the time she and Koji returned from their sightseeing trip. She kicked her shoes off as soon as she entered- more for comfort than any cultural necessity. While Koji sat down in a chair, Michi gathered her night clothes and went into the bathroom to change. Her uneasiness about Chiaki had been lost somewhere in Rainbow Town. On the giant Ferris wheel she was feeling a new high. She was enjoying herself here. Their task was important, but any worries about their secret mission were lost in the sights and sounds of Odaiba. 

Koji was a big reason for this. Michi would have never wanted to go along if it weren't for Koji. Michi could see why her parents in the Digital World liked him so much. After everything she had been through, and with all the secrecy and deception in her world, seeing a genuinely nice person in the middle of it all made her feel welcome. She wasn't out to deceive anyone, but that didn't mean she couldn't be a factor in who discovers what.

After changing into a t-shirt and pajama bottoms, she opened the bathroom door and saw Koji lying on the bed. "Hey, I thought I called the bed before we left!" she shouted.

"No you didn't! But I'm calling it now! Okay?" He hopped off and grabbed his clothes, trotting into the bathroom. 

Despite his "calling it," Michi laid down anyway. Koji had already rolled the futon out on the floor, but she had to stake her claim in the bed when Koji came back in. This was another fun part of the trip. Considering that they had only known each other for a couple weeks, they had already grown fairly comfortable with each other. It took a certain special combination of maturity and immaturity for a girl and a boy to have such an innocent argument about who slept where.

She could tell Koji expected her to be on the bed when he left the bathroom. She turned on her side, facing away from him. "What's wrong with the futon?" he asked.

"Nothing," she said with a mock pout, "It's just the principal of it. Don't you know the girl gets the bed?" 

"I don't remember ever hearing that."

"Well, unless you're bold enough to pry me out…" She turned back to face him, just to make sure he wasn't going to take her up on the offer.

With a mischievous smile, Koji took a step forward. "We can always share!"

She could tell immediately he was joking. But something instinctive made her shirk back with a disapproving frown. As soon as she realized her reaction, her frown remained, but for a different reason. She really wasn't concerned, but Michi knew she was giving off the impression that she was. Now Koji was the one stepping back.

"Just kidding," he said, sounding more like an attempt to apologize than a frantic clarification. 

Michi remained silent as Koji fell to his knees and began spreading a blanket over the futon on the floor. The balance permitting the argument of who got the bed was a distant memory. Michi silently watched him, scolding herself for making him feel uncomfortable. That simple reaction was bound to make things awkward indefinitely. Perhaps even the rest of the trip.

"At least he isn't blushing," she thought.

Then Koji started to snicker. He shook his head constantly as he went about making what was now definitely his futon. "It begins…" he said.

"What?" Michi said, totally confused.

"I suppose it's hard to avoid."  Still on his knees, Koji rotated until he was facing Michi. He was smiling again. "Tell you what, I won't fall in love with you if don't fall in love with me. Deal?"

Michi raised an eyebrow as her mouth crept into a smile. He also apparently wanted to restore the balance. Knowing that neither of the two would be able to survive the trip without a platonic relationship, she smiled. "Deal."

"Good. Since that's settled…" Koji rose and motioned to the bed again. "Now we can share the bed!" 

It was in the exact same tone as last time, but after the ensuing discomfort, the suggestion now seemed so totally ridiculous that Michi burst out laughing. 

"Don't even think about it!" she exclaimed.

Koji began laughing as well as he tucked himself into the futon. As her laughter faded out, she knew it was his intention. The balance was restored; the relationship was back on solid ground.

And yet, as Michi turned out the light, the relationship was still not where she wanted it. In mere weeks, Koji had already become an invaluable friend to her. Until he came along, she was satisfied having her brothers as her best friends. But one was more conservative, more cautious, and more emotional than her. The other was temperamental and a bully when Michi wasn't keeping him fenced in. Koji's naivety was fresh. And like her, he wasn't afraid to be bold once in awhile. 

Several reasons were already preventing her from falling asleep. The next day could potentially decide the fate of their quest. Because of Koji, she was giving Chiaki a chance to either help them immensely or destroy their lives. With so much at stake, the last thing she needed was another reason to worry. But as Koji drifted off easily, the reality was right in front of her. Michi feared the possibility of not holding her end of the deal she had just made with him.  
  
**To Be Continued in "Stage Four- Home"**

**Author's Notes**  
In Level 1, it took a little while to realize exactly where the story was going. The key to any "mind fuck" is to have a genuine story about genuine characters at its roots. "Serial Experiments Lain," which this is heavily inspired by, is best-known for its confusing imagery and non-linear plot, but fans like it primarily because of its genuine story about a girl trying to discover her true place and purpose in the world. Here, the story gets going very quickly, and while I still remain a "cryptic bastard" (as one reviewer very accurately stated), the emotions of Mimi, Koji, and Michi are paramount to the chapter.  
  
Under no circumstances should anyone even consider trying to make this work with the original Japanese situation. I made a deliberate decision at the very beginning to use strictly dub canon, which applies to the years and ages of the characters, the fact that Koji and Chiaki speak remarkable English for Japanese kids, and little references to specific dubbing errors early in the first season.   
  
On that note, everything regarding any of seasons being a television show is integral to the plot. The discussion of Mimi's baby brother does have purpose, especially if you didn't catch the discussion of Matt's rock band in Level 1. Namely, it shows that the TV show is not 100% accurate. I won't use that to pull any fast ones on you, but the fact that inconsistencies do exist is important to recognize.  
  
The problem with writing these big epics is that often, fascinating characters and fascinating situations can't get as much attention as I'd like. In particular, Tony didn't get much of a fair shake. Loyal to his father and the actual child of Mimi and Michael, Tony was often put on the other side of the fence as Michi and Kori. As Mimi sides with Michi, thereby opposing Michael, Tony becomes something of a tragic character, as his own mother betrays him in many ways. His relationship with Michi is also something deserving analysis, since they are not blood relatives.  
  
This ends Level 2: Stage 3 of The Connection.


	4. Home

**_Level 2- Children_****_  
_**_  
Mari Izumi- Age 16  
Born to Izzy and Aya Izumi on October 17, 2023  
Disappeared in 2032, Reappeared in 2037  
Currently living in Odaiba, Tokyo with mother Aya  
  
_**Stage Four- Home  
  
**The sun blinded Koji the second he stepped out from under the hotel's awning, forcing him to shield his eyes. Fortunately, a cloud passed overhead, offering some relief as it threw its shadow over the streets of Odaiba. Michi was not even fazed as she left the building. 

"The guy at the desk says it's a couple blocks that way," she said, pointing down the street.

"Great. Let's do this," Koji replied. He wasn't nervous about meeting Chiaki. As significant as the meeting was to their mission, he didn't see anything at risk. Michi may have felt otherwise, but to Koji, the worst possibility was gaining nothing. Losing anything was out of the question.

After half a block, Michi asked, "How do I look?"

Koji turned to his companion, a little surprised. Michi didn't seem the type to worry about her appearance. However, she spent a long time in the bathroom that morning, eventually settling on the crimson dress she was currently wearing. But it was still just an ordinary dress. It highlighted none of her features, fitting her fairly loosely and receded well below her knees. Koji had never been all that attracted to her physically, and the dress was not changing anything.

"You look like a girl," he said eventually.

"I mean-" She paused and composed herself before going on, "Does it work for the situation? 

"What situation?"

She began walking again. "Well, we're trying to carry the idea that we're just here on spring break. But we still have to get those addresses without arousing suspicion. What I'm asking is if this dress says 'innocent spring break.' That's all."

"I don't know. I guess so. I wasn't really too worried about that."

"It's not a bad idea," Michi said, shielding her eyes as the sun poked out again, "This meeting could make or break the trip."

"You think so?" Suddenly, Koji was beginning to feel nervous. He had given no thought at all to the impression he was making on Chiaki. "How do *I* look?"

Michi half-turned her neck. As far as Koji could tell, she couldn't even see him. Still, she replied, "You look fine."

Koji sped up until he was alongside Michi. "Okay, let's assume for a second that Chiaki is setting a trap for us. What do we do if we fall into it?"

"First off, we make sure we don't. If we don't slip up, we don't fall," Michi said, "But we still have to be ready for anything."

Koji, however, was growing more nervous. "And if we're not?" 

Michi stopped for a moment and opened her purse. "Then we get some help."

Koji watched her dig around inside, not sure what she was planning on pulling out. For all he knew, she had a weapon stashed in there. "What kind of help?" he asked.

She ended up pulling out a slip of paper. "Yolei Ichijouji. She's another one of the Chosen. Mom's been staying in touch with her."

"I thought that was dangerous."

"Only if they say something stupid. I guess they just chat like normal friends. Nothing wrong with that."

"But does she know we're here?"

"Yep." Michi put away the slip and smiled at Koji. "We're here on spring break and we are to get a hold of her in case of emergency."

Koji raised his eyebrows. "Wow. Mimi thought of everything."

Still smiling, Michi continued on silently toward the restaurant. 

Koji did his best to relax as they drew closer. He forced himself to return to his previous trust in Chiaki, and convinced himself that the only way he and Michi would be in danger was if they said something incriminating.

Chiaki was waiting for them at a table outside the restaurant. He still looked harmless to Koji, reinforced by the growing smile on his face as the two approached.

"Good morning Michi, Koji," Chiaki said, standing up to greet their arrival. He looked over Michi as his smile grew wider. "You know, you're really pretty."

Michi smiled brightly and nodded. "Thank you!" 

As Chiaki turned his back to sit down, Koji glanced at Michi. She turned quickly to Koji, frowning suddenly at him and shaking her head. Before he could say anything in response, she had already approached Chiaki, her smile magically returning. 

She and Koji sat down. Not wanting to sound anxious, Koji said, "Great weather today, isn't it?"

"I don't know, it's a little bright for me," Chiaki replied, "I should have brought my sunglasses."

Koji nodded. "Yeah, that's true."

"So did you have any luck?" Michi asked. Koji silently thanked her for bringing it up. He wasn't sure how he wanted to word it.

Chiaki smiled, but leaned forward. "Well, I did get a hold of Kensuke. He wants to know why."

"Why what?" Koji responded, acting clueless.

"Well, given who they are, and their history, Kensuke's not sure if he wants to let just anybody see them."

"We're not just anybody!" Michi pleaded, "We're friends with them."

"How? How do you know them? They seem to have only one thing in common. And I guess that connection is long gone. From what Kensuke says, we can get into a lot of trouble trying to restore it."

Suddenly, Chiaki was acting differently. Any notions of suspicion were rapidly diminishing in Koji as he realized that he, Michi, and Chiaki were all in the same boat. 

He looked over at Michi. She was staring down at the table. She closed her eyes and sighed before looking up at Chiaki. 

"I'm one of them. My parents were also… you know."

Chiaki blinked, then nodded. "I figured it was something like that. Unfortunately, it doesn't make things any easier."

Michi leaned forward and stared into Chiaki's eyes. "I understand that. But that's why I want to see them. We've been separated for so long that I want to know what they're up to. And how they're getting along, and stuff. I know our ties have been cut, but that bond still exists. Kensuke would understand that."

As she sat back, Koji was struck by her feelings about the matter. They sounded sincere, as if there really was more to meeting the other children than delivering news of their parents. Perhaps Michi was finally confessing her true reason for accompanying him.

Chiaki leaned back as well, looking at Michi with sympathetic eyes. Suddenly, he stood up. "Well," he stated, "Let's put that to the test and see if Kensuke does understand."

Koji looked up at Chiaki. "What? He's here?" 

"Of course! He runs this place." 

"Great! I'd love to see him!" Michi stood from her chair. Chiaki patted her on the shoulder and led her inside. Koji rose quickly and followed them. 

The seats were more than half-filled inside, with a modest line of customers waiting to order. At the counter, a young man's face lit up as he saw the three walk in. He finished ladling broth into a bowl, handed it to a co-worker, and stepped away. He rounded the counter and smiled at the trio, running a hand through his short, dark brown hair.

"Well if it isn't little Michi Ishida! I haven't seen you since I started high school!" 

Michi nodded with a forced a smile as she tried remember. "I take it you're Kensuke. It's been a while for me too."

They hugged briefly before Kensuke turned to Koji, who extended a hand. "I'm Koji. Nice to meet you Mr. Motomiya."

"Come on, call me Kensuke," he replied, gesturing to a booth. "Sit down, let me know how things have been going for you."

Michi sat down immediately, but Chiaki backed away. "Well, unfortunately, I have to get going. I'll leave you to get reacquainted," he said.

Koji turned his head, confused. "But what about…"

Chiaki put his hands up. "I'm sure Kensuke can help you out if he thinks it's appropriate." He turned to the restaurateur. "Kensuke, I'll see you around some time."

"Yeah, sure. Thanks for bringing them here," Kensuke replied with a wave as Chiaki left the establishment. Then he turned to Michi, a bright smile still on his face. "So what's been going on in NYC?"

Koji remained quiet as Michi rambled off a number of anecdotes about her and her brothers. Not only did her chatting work with their front, but he was sure she was happy to see an old friend. Besides, Koji was fascinated by her stories- they were astoundingly average. She was the daughter of Matt and Sora Ishida, two of the greatest heroes the world had known. And yet, even after the trauma of December 31, 2028, Michi was living a mundane, uninteresting life. Koji almost envied the uninspiring normality she was describing to Kensuke.

Kensuke was smiling and nodding along. After years of separation, having a starting position on a high school soccer team or playing alto saxophone in the school band made a good story. 

"Anyway, Koji and I are here on spring break and we thought we'd drop by," she said in conclusion.

Kensuke looked at Koji. "So how long have you two been together?" he asked.

"A few months," she answered quickly, before Koji could tell him the truth. "We met at a, uh… Christmas party," she added.

Turning back to Michi, Kensuke laughed. "Christmas is good for your family. Like mother, like daughter, huh?"

Michi let out an abbreviated laugh as Koji stared at her nervously. The last thing he wanted was to get caught up in a lie. Especially when it involved posing as a couple.

"It's an inside joke," Kensuke said as an aside to Koji.

"So what have you been up to?" Michi asked. 

Kensuke responded by pulling out his wallet. Michi and Koji leaned forward as he revealed a picture of a toddler. Given the child's messy brown hair and the set of goggles strapped around his forehead, it was obvious that he was Kensuke's son.

"Besides C.G.Y., taking care of Taro pretty much covers what I've been up to."

Michi took the picture and smiled, careful to hold it so Koji could see it closely. "How old is he?" 

"Three. He's a handful, but I guess that's to be expected of a Motomiya."

"This is great," Michi said, handing back the picture, "I just hope we can find everybody else."

Kensuke was about to put the picture back into his wallet, but paused and looked up at the Michi. The smile had vanished from his face. "Everybody else, huh?"

"While we're here, we really would like to see what everybody's up to. Especially, um…" Michi cleared her throat, "The four that lost a…"

"Right." Kensuke put the wallet away, sat back, and looked around the room. 

"Do you know where they are?" Koji asked. 

Kensuke didn't respond at first. He merely sat back and glanced around the room. Koji also looked around. Nobody was watching them. Everybody in the room was happily slurping their noodles, paying no attention to the restaurant's manager or the two foreigners sitting with him. 

"You know that's dangerous," Kensuke finally said.

"Yes, but…" 

Kensuke didn't let Michi finish. "They're watching us. They still think we're a threat. Especially when we get together. I can't imagine them liking the idea of you and Koji hunting everybody down. Even if it is for something innocent."

"It is," Koji pleaded, "Kensuke, it's just…"

"Is it?" Kensuke glared at Koji. Then he turned to Michi. "You should know about the consequences, Michi. It's not worth it just to see a picture of my kid." He glanced aside for a moment. "Hell, I could have e-mailed it to you if you wanted."

Trembling a little, Michi answered, "We just want to say hi. That's all."

Koji followed, leaning forward. "Please, Kensuke." He gestured toward Michi. "They've kept you guys apart for so long. And for what? The off chance that you might say something out of line? Michi wants to see how you're all doing. And I want to help her find out. If somebody upstairs doesn't like that, then they can take it up with us. All we need are their addresses. Please?"

As Kensuke stared thoughtfully at Koji, Koji realized for a moment that he had forgotten his true purpose. The letters rushed back into Koji's mind. The secret held within them was the very reason the families of the Chosen were being monitored. Kensuke had every reason to be hesitant. But Koji also needed him to come through in the end.

"I can't do it," Kensuke said, looking down and rubbing his fingers over a smear on the table. "Whether or not to give you the addresses is a tough decision. I don't want to be the one saddled with it."

Koji and Michi slumped down. For a moment, their lead had run into a wall. 

However, Kensuke looked back up at them, and their hopes started climbing.

"If you want those addresses, you'll have to ask my father."

Kensuke was very obliging in arranging the appointment. In fact, all Michi and Koji had to do was order bowls of ramen and eat lunch while Kensuke made a phone call. Apparently, the noodle magnate still had plenty of time for his son; Davis agreed to meet them almost immediately.

After lunch, Kensuke led Koji and Michi to a ten-story office building in central Odaiba.

Koji stared up at the colossus. "Is that all C.G.Y.?"

Kensuke laughed. "No… just the top three floors. Come on, we're going to be late."

Koji trembled as they entered the lobby and stepped into the elevator. Kensuke pressed the button for the top floor. Desperate to take his mind off meeting the one and only Davis Motomiya, Koji glanced around in hopes of finding something to pay attention to.

The annoying black speck on the left strap of Michi's dress worked nicely. It wasn't large, but it was obtrusive. For the first five floors, Koji couldn't take his eyes off it. Finally, he gave into temptation and pulled it off.

"What?" Michi asked, looking back.

"Nothing. You just had something on your dress."

"Did you get it?"

"Yeah."

Koji wasn't sure what it used to be. An errant piece of seaweed from lunch, perhaps. Either way, it was taken care of. Koji crushed it into dust and flicked it onto the ground.

The elevator door opened and Kensuke led them down to an office at the end of the hallway. The secretary stood as soon as he walked in.

"He's ready to see you now," she said with a smile, opening a door along the back wall. Kensuke, Koji and Michi entered the room behind it. 

"Mr. Motomiya, they're here," she told the figure seated at the desk at the far end of the room. 

Davis stood and smiled. "Thanks. Come on in, guys."

The secretary closed the door behind them. Koji was surprised to find Davis's office as businesslike as it was. The walls were bare, except for a few trophies, certificates, and framed magazine covers. The windows were large; the midday sun was currently the main source of light in the room. Except for the pale red carpeting, there was very little color. 

Kensuke bowed. "Thanks again for seeing them, Dad. You're better off calling the shots on this one."

Davis acknowledged his son with a half-bow. "Don't mention it. I can take it from here. Did you get lunch?"

"Not yet. I just started my break."

"Good. Why don't you go check out that new Kissu Ten place down the street? Word is they have a really sweet miso bowl."

Kensuke smiled. "I'll let you know if we should be worried about it. See you in a bit."

As Kensuke abandoned Koji and Michi, Davis leant against the back of a chair and observed them. Koji was starting to worry again. He has expected Davis to be casual and easy-going. The man with the short brown hair, brown suit, and auburn tie appeared to be a businessman in every regard. But as Davis watched Koji and Michi, he began to flash a smile. It was an eerily recognizable grin, one that told Koji that this was still the same Davis he had once admired.

"You two can sit down whenever you feel like it," Davis said. 

"Oh!" Michi cried, "I'm sorry." 

She quickly walked toward the chair Davis had been up against. He walked back behind his desk as she and Koji sat down. Davis sat as well, folding his hands and leaning forward on the desk.

"So Michi Grant invades Japan. I haven't seen you since the twenties."

"That's why I'm here," she said, disguising some tenseness in her voice.

"How have Michael and Mimi been treating you?"

She smiled. "Well, they let me come to Japan. That's a good sign."

Davis leaned back in his chair. "That does surprise me a little. I mean, they're letting you go unsupervised... and with a guy." He turned to Koji, raising his eyebrow. "Koji, was it?"

Koji gulped. After a deep breath, he nodded. "She's in good hands."

"I wasn't worried." Davis scratched the back of his neck and frowned. "What worries me is why you're here."

"That's not the only reason we're here," Michi blurted. Davis leant forward slightly and eyed her carefully. "It's a vacation, you know?"

"But Kensuke says you're trying to get in touch with the four?"

"We uh… just wanted to say hi." Michi's hands started to tremble as well. Koji could understand why. Davis had a calm, conversational voice and was doing his best to make Koji and Michi relax. However, it was very clear that Davis was grilling them on their mission. Michi was already starting to buckle.

Davis leant forward again. He held up a finger. "Okay, first we have Takuya Takaishi. No problem whatsoever with him. I mean, he's your cousin, right? His dad and your dad are brothers. So what if they were Matt Ishida and TJ Takaishi?"

Koji couldn't help but start snickering. He no longer had any doubts about this being the Davis he remembered. 

Davis stopped and pointed at Koji. "So you've read TK's books. I always like to know what a stranger knows about me."

Koji immediately sat upright as he realized Davis's slip-up was completely intentional. Davis turned back to Michi.

"Anyway, if you wanted to talk to TK's kid, that isn't an issue. Then there's Mima Hida. Cody's kid. I'm a little indifferent about that one."

"How so?" Michi asked.

"Nothing special about her, for or against. Aside from your parents being Chosen, there's no connection between you and her. That's not good. However, she's been busy trying to start her singing career, and she seems to be catching a few breaks. So it's a good excuse for you to look her up."

Koji slowly tried to piece together Davis's logistics. "So basically, as long as it's not specifically about the Chosen, it's all right?"

Davis nodded. "Pretty much. It's Shinya and Mari that are problems."

"How so?" Michi asked.

"I would imagine that those two are really being watched carefully. Anything remotely suspicious around them could spell trouble." Davis leaned forward. "I think they know something they aren't supposed to."

Koji and Michi eyed each other nervously. With Davis waiting for either to respond, the two had a silent battle of who would speak. Not wanting to leave the burden on Michi, Koji turned back to Davis.

"What makes you think that?"

Davis looked down at his desk before responding, "They didn't kill Shinya's uncle for nothing." 

Koji froze. This was the first time he had heard about a real murder. He had been in a world of cover-ups, secrecy, and rumors. But perhaps somebody had truly died after all.

"Jim found something out... and they found him. The question is whether or not he told anybody."

"Like… Shinya?" guessed Michi.

"Possibly. We'll never know. Shinya sure isn't saying anything about it. He knows better than that."

"And what about Mari?" Koji asked. 

Davis laughed. "Mari… explaining Mari is just a headache."

"I heard she disappeared a few years ago," Michi said inquisitively.

"Yeah. Without a trace. We figured she was another victim. But a few years ago she reappeared. Nobody can get a damn thing out of her except her mother. And Aya is doing a very good job of keeping everything between them."

Koji and Michi said nothing. Koji was growing discouraged. His secret may have been leaked already, but disastrous consequences fell on those who discovered it. For a moment, he was tempted to forget about everything and go home. Perhaps Tony was right- it was too risky. 

Then Koji considered forgetting about Shinya and Mari and focusing on the other two. But Koji wanted to know what Shinya and Mari knew. And what they went through because of it. Assuming he hadn't been detected yet, Koji needed to know the consequences if he was.

"So…" Davis continued, "You just wanted to say hi?"

"Yes," Koji said firmly, "We do. Given everything that they, and you, had done, don't you think it's wrong to be kept apart?"

Davis scoffed. "Of course it's wrong. I hate it just as much as you two. And you know, I really want to help you out." Davis set his arms on the desk, rested his chin on them. and stared down at the desk. "But I can't. The whole thing's too tense right now and I don't want you guys to accidentally start something."

Both Koji and Michi slumped back in disappointment as Davis continued, "It's too risky. I'd feel awful if you got into trouble over something so innocent."

The office fell silent for a while. Koji understood everything Davis was saying. But at the same time, he had an obligation to Davis's friends. As dangerous as it was, he had to go through with it. 

Obviously, they could go around Davis to secure the addresses, but to do so would feel like a betrayal. Koji wanted Davis's approval. It seemed the only way to get it was to confess its true purpose.

"They're alive," he said softly. 

Davis lifted his head and looked at Koji. "Hmm?"

Koji looked over at Michi, staring back with questioning eyes. He turned back, now more confident, and nodded. "Yeah. The seven who you thought died? They didn't. They ended up in the Digital World."

Davis sat up straight, continuing to observe Koji carefully. Koji opened his mouth to elaborate further, but stopped after Davis started laughing. The businessman stood and turned around. He continued laughing as he stared out the window.

"Davis, I know it sounds strange but…" Koji stopped his explanation when Davis put a hand up against the window. From the transparent reflection, Koji could see a huge smile on Davis's face.

"I knew it had to be something like that," he mused, turning back around and facing Koji once again. "No way those seven could die that easily."

"I have proof and everything. They gave me letters when I was in there."

Davis raised an eyebrow, but didn't stop smiling. "You were in there too? How are they doing?"

"Um… fine." Koji was expecting the usual questions about how he got in and out, and was a little surprised when Davis ignored the countless loopholes.

"You're having a much easier time believing this that I expected," Michi said as Davis pulled out a Rolodex. 

Davis turned to Michi. "Hey, it's easier to swallow than that tripe about the fire, wouldn't you say?" As Michi nodded, Davis began flipping through the addresses. "So I suppose that's the reason you're really here- you want to let those four know the truth."

Koji stood and bowed his head slightly. "Yes. I understand how dangerous it is. That's why we came to you to get the addresses. I know it's risky, but if you could please…" Koji trailed off as he saw Davis pull one card out of the rolodex.

Davis read, "Hida, Mima." He set it down and began rifling through the others. "That one may be outdated. I think she moved in with her boyfriend a couple months ago."

"So you're helping us now?" Michi asked, somewhat surprised.

"Of course." Davis stopped and looked up at the pair. "Just saying hi isn't any reason to start anything. But this… now this is reason to start something. This is big. This is worth it."

Koji and Michi smiled as Davis resumed his search. "Thank you so much. I mean, I'm sure you understand how important this is," Koji said.

Davis set two more cards alongside Mima's and stared at Koji. The smile on his face was suddenly gone, and he stared grimly at Koji. "Yes, it's important. This changes everything. Those kids will now be able to fully understand exactly what their parents did. They can be proud knowing their parents are still alive and protecting the Digital World. And they can also begin to see what kind of bastards are in charge of all this." 

Koji remained silent as Davis retrieved the final card. "However…" he went on, "Those bastards obviously don't want the children to know about this. If they ever find out that you were in the Digital World, and that you have proof of it, and that you're trying to get the word out…" Davis paused before looking back up at Koji. "…I doubt they'll have any problems with killing you."

As intimidating as it sounded, Koji didn't mind. He knew there would be risks. Otherwise Mimi and Adam wouldn't have reacted the way they did. 

"I understand," Koji replied, "But this has to be done. Not only is it important for the truth to get out… but I promised them I would do this."

Davis sat back in his chair. His old familiar grin returned as he watched Koji finish. He nodded slowly. "Koji- you may be the bravest kid I've ever met."

A little taken aback by the compliment, Koji scratched his neck. "Well… you did pretty good too when you were a kid."

Davis shook his head. "Koji, saving the world's one thing. Changing the world? Now that takes guts."

Only two of the four lived in the Odaiba area- Mari and Mima. With only a former address and a few clues about Mima's music career, Michi anticipated a hassle in arranging a meeting with Cody's daughter. So much, in fact, that she wanted to start hunting down Mima immediately. 

Koji, on the other hand, was more focused on the situation with Mari. He wanted to know what she had experienced. He hoped his own knowledge about her father would help her open up. The resulting compromise ended up sending Michi to sniff out Mima and Koji going alone to deliver the letter to Mari. 

Koji rang the doorbell outside the Izumi apartment. His hand slipped into his pocket, nervously fingering a slip of paper inside. It was a copy of Yolei Ichijouji's address in Tamachi. Mari was perhaps the most dangerous person to talk to. And while Koji wanted to get it out of the way immediately, he was still fearful.

The front door cracked open and a pair of large, green eyes greeted Koji. At first, the eyes were the only things moving, scanning Koji up and down with interest. Finally, the owner of the eyes said, "Hello?" 

Mari had a pleasant voice. Never before had one word sounded so calm and inviting to Koji. It didn't make him feel more comfortable, however. In fact, Koji was even more tense. The insurgence surrounding this meeting compounded as Koji realized he was making a startling revelation to a seemingly sweet girl. 

"What do you want?" 

Not only was the pressure getting to Koji, it was increasing with each of Mari's words. He was so tense he had forgotten the simple process of introducing himself. Finally, he forced himself into a bow.

"Mari Izumi? I'd like to talk to you about your father, if you don't mind."

Koji lifted his head in time to see Mari open the door. Her appearance matched his mental picture of her- the hair hanging loosely to her shoulders was reddish-brown, a shade browner than her father's. He felt a wave of familiarity as he looked at her, somehow stronger than when he met Davis. She was definitely cuter than Michi. While most of Michi's features reminded Koji of her father, Mari stood out enough for Koji to consider her pretty.

Of course, none of that mattered, since she was carefully considering whether or not to let him in. With a frown, she nervously began, "I don't know. Um…"

"Please," Koji interrupted, "It's very important. And trust me, I'm not trying to get you into trouble or anything. I just need to speak with you. And your mother, if she's around."

Mari shook her head. "No… she's in Germany for a conference."

"That's alright. Mind if I come in?" 

She nodded and let him through the doorway. He was still nervous, but was managing to fight through it. Koji almost forgot to take his shoes off, but caught himself before stepping into the hallway. He followed Mari into the living room, and obeyed her request to sit on the sofa. 

"Would you like something to drink?" she asked, clasping her hands.

He fidgeted for a moment. Figuring it would polite to respond positively and hoping a beverage would calm his nerves, he replied, "Um… sure. Do you have, um… tea?" 

"Sure. Just a moment." She went into the kitchen. 

Koji leaned back and took a deep breath. His worries weren't because of his own predicament; he had prepared himself for the worst, and having Yolei's address in his pocket made things easier on his end. Instead, he was concerned about Mari. If what Davis had said was true, the girl had been through a lot. She seemed to be hiding it well, but Koji was afraid his upcoming discussion would bring out even more painful memories and distressing emotions than Michi, Kori, or Adam had.

She returned with a tray carrying two glasses. Koji took one and thanked her as she sat down across from him, setting the tray and the second glass on the coffee table in front of her.

Mari began, "So… what do you want to know about my father?"

Koji took a sip of the tea, a little shaken by the wording of her question. She apparently thought he came looking for information. Of course, in a way, he was. He decided to see what he could get.

"Well… do you know what happened to him?" For clarification, he added, "Beyond everything about the fire. I'm sure you don't really believe that."

She looked away for a moment. Koji gave her time to frame a response; he didn't want to rush her. 

After a few seconds of hesitation, she replied, "No." She fell silent again, turning this time to the glass of tea she held in her hands. "I can't say what happened," she whispered.

"Do you know?"

More silence. Finally, she looked up at Koji. "If that's what this is about, you might as well leave now. I can't help you. People have been asking me for three years. I can't say."

Her head slumped down. Koji could imagine the questions people asked Mari after her mysterious return. Of course, the questions wouldn't be about her father. They'd rather ask where she was and what she had been though. Her answer, on the other hand, could be relevant. If she had discovered the truth during her absence, it made sense that she couldn't answer. To do so would incite the wrath of the omnipotent "they" who watched over her. Koji knew he needed to reassure her that he was different. 

"Mari, I know what happened to him."

She shook her head. "You can't possibly know. I'm not even sure myself."

Koji waited until she looked him in the eyes. "I was there Mari. I saw him. He's alive."

Without taking her eyes off him, Mari stood, hastily stepped around the coffee table and sat next to him on the sofa. 

"You were there too?" she asked, with a look of amazement in her eyes. 

Koji shied away for a moment. Not only was he getting uncomfortable with her proximity, he felt the weight of her presupposition- he wasn't alone.

"You were… in the Digital World?"

She nodded, moving closer to him.

"I can't prove anything. But I was. And he's alive. I don't know if my mother believed me when I told her, but she said I couldn't tell anybody else either way." 

Koji stood, turned away from her, and opened the fanny pack strapped around his waist. He felt a little awkward wearing it, but it was the most inconspicuous thing he and Michi could store the letters in. He began to pull Izzy's letter out. 

"I have proof," he started, still with his back to her, "Your dad gave me a…"

He was silenced as Mari's arms wrapped around his waist. He could feel her leaning against his back.

"I believe you…" she whispered. "You were there… you understand."

Koji dropped the letter. He wanted to step away from her. She was holding him too tightly, and he began to understand the real reason she was making him nervous. But at the moment, she needed him. Nobody else had been in the Digital World. Nobody else had learned the truth first-hand. And that truth was such a heavy burden against such a popular lie. 

Mari continued to embrace him. Koji hadn't moved. The more she held him, the more relaxed he felt. The process was working both ways. In two years, nobody had been able to grasp what Koji had been through. Dwayne never seemed to care. Even Michi, who did her best to care, couldn't possibly understand. But Mari would understand. She'd understand everything. As Koji began to feel Mari's tears rolling down his back, he began to realize that at that moment, he needed her too.

He reached back and grabbed her hand. Then he slowly turned around and embraced her. She was weeping softly against his shoulder. They felt the same, but Koji did not cry, instead showing his emotion through the arms that surrounded her, that knew exactly where to hold her as she let out her tears of joy.

Michi wound up with more luck than she had expected. Junko Hida had a good memory, and was able to recall her husband's old Chosen friends and their children. All Michi had to do was introduce herself, and Junko took care of the rest.

Mima had indeed moved in with her boyfriend. Fortunately, she still kept in touch with her mother. That afternoon, Mima was at a studio, recording a theme song for an upcoming television show. Michi had no trouble getting the address, or finding the location.

While Mima was being paged, Michi sat in the lobby. Like Koji, she had a fanny pack with one of the letters inside. Michi wasn't sure whether to deliver it or just set up a meeting. This was supposed to be Koji's operation. Michi was just supporting him.

As the wait continued, the inevitable reflections began. Michi was alone in a recording studio in Tokyo, one page away from meeting the daughter of Cody Hida. With some of the others, there was a connection deeper than being a child of the Odaiba Chosen; With Adam, New York- with Kensuke, their fathers who had carried the mark of friendship; but Cody and Matt had only one thread connecting them. Mima represented nothing special to Michi. Furthermore, unless Mima's memory wasn't as good as her mother's, it would be an uncomfortable conversation. 

Michi's thoughts kept going back to Koji. He was the reason she was doing all this. Koji had the power to change history. He had already changed her. As recently as that morning, she had considered herself confident, with the ability to keep her cool in almost any situation. But in the meeting with Davis, Koji had stolen the show, with Michi's nerves leaving her ineffective. She could tell Koji knew exactly what he was doing when he let Davis in on the secret. He knew it was going to work. As he successfully worked his magic on Davis, Michi fell deeper into his spell. She admired him more and more. Perhaps she even…

"Were you looking for Mima?" A tall young man, maybe a couple of years older than Michi, jolted her back into reality. She was grateful that he did. She and Koji promised not to fall for each other; she was determined to hold her end of the deal against all odds. 

She stood and bowed awkwardly. "Yes. My name's Michi Grant. Our parents were friends."

The man nodded. "That's what Mrs. Hida said. My name's Touji, I'm Mima's boyfriend."

"Nice to meet you." 

Touji led her down a hall to a lounge outside the recording booth. Inside was Mima, relaxing with a bottle of water. She stood immediately upon seeing Michi and smiled.

"Michi! It's so nice to see you again." She stepped forward and clutched Michi's hands.

Michi initially stepped back, but let Mima draw closer. Michi had to think about how she wanted to say this. It was supposed to be Koji's job. 

"Yes… well I'm in Tokyo over spring break and I thought I'd stop by."

"Wonderful! Who are you here with?"

"Um… a friend," she answered nervously. With the idea of having stronger feelings for Koji hanging over her head, the last thing she wanted was to clarify the relationship for Mima. But with no initial response from Mima, Michi continued, "He and I are…"

"I understand," Mima said suddenly, with a large smile. Michi felt her cheeks burning.

Touji interrupted, "I'm going to talk to the producer and see if he wants anything else." Mima nodded in consent and he left. 

Eager to get the heat off herself, Michi volleyed the discussion back to Mima. As they sat down, she began, "So how long have you and Touji been together?"

"We've been dating for half a year. I moved in with him in January." Mima paused for a moment, before continuing, "My mother was a little unsure when he made the offer, but it didn't take me long to realize it was right. Sometimes you have to trust your heart on matters like this."

Michi mumbled an incoherent response. She never liked sentimental discussions like these. She had enough faith that her head would guide her correctly; her heart was one organ she didn't know how to play. 

Fiddling with the fanny pack, she decided to give it a shot. If Mima's head was in the clouds, Michi wanted to appeal to Mima's heart with a more productive subject.

"Um… I guess I should get to the real reason I'm here." Mima nodded as Michi retrieved the letter. "I don't know exactly how to say this but… this is from your father." 

Mima's smile fell for the first time since Michi saw her. Mima took the envelope and carefully opened it. "Hopefully he explains it in there," Michi added, scratching her shoulder.

Hoping to avoid any difficult questions, Michi nervously observed Mima as she read the letter. She grimaced as Mima began to furrow her eyebrows, her mouth opening more and more as she perused the letter. 

"Why did you give me this?" she asked Michi while still staring at the letter.

Michi raised an eyebrow. "Don't you understand what that means?"

Mima faced straight ahead, still looking troubled. "I didn't need this. It was all supposed to be over. And this doesn't change the fact that Dad's dead. It just complicates the circumstances."

Although she was a little bewildered, Michi at least knew how to respond. "Mima, read it closer. Your Dad's not dead!"

Looking down, Mima solemnly replied, "Yes he is. Whoever wrote this doesn't remember mother or me. It doesn't matter if he was reborn if he doesn't recall the people he loved."

Suddenly, Michi was lost. She had no reason to think Mima's letter was different than hers or her brother's. But all this talk of rebirth and remembrance was new. Her parents certainly had no trouble remembering Kori or herself.

"Still, it's nice that the others are still alive," Mima said kindly, turning to Michi, "And I suppose Dad is still doing alright, even if he doesn't remember mother or me."

Michi pointed to the letter. "Can… I see that a second?"

Mima handed it over. Michi quickly skimmed over it, trying to make sense of Mima's reaction.

_"…Some time ago, the father you knew died…"  
"…Whoever I am, I feel it my duty to tell you and your mother the truth…"  
"…Even though I have no memory of  you or Junko, the fact that I have a daughter somewhere, doing great things with the memory of me in your heart, makes me love you all the same."_

Speechless, Michi handed the letter back. Koji hadn't prepared her for that. Mima carefully returned it to its envelope and set it aside. 

Mima looked up at Michi. "So how did you end up with these letters? Do you know Takato?"

"Hm?" Michi looked up. "Takato?"

"Dad said Takato was supposed to deliver this letter."

Michi quickly remembered Koji's real name and nodded quickly. "Oh, right! That's who I came here with. He changed his name and…"

"He sounds like a very nice boy." Mima smiled suddenly, forcing Michi to rear back nervously. Once again, Koji kept returning to the conversation.

Michi started to stutter some incoherent response, not even knowing herself what she was trying to say. Anything she said was more to defend herself from her own feelings, rather than any misunderstanding on Mima's part. But Michi never heard herself say they were just friends. She lacked the will to say that without questioning its validity.

Mima appeared unfazed, nodding along to Michi's rambles, still with that calm smile on her face. The smile made Michi realize the futility of explaining. She slumped down. "Yeah. He is," she said, turning away.

"Michi, I don't mean to stick my nose in your affairs, but I can tell when somebody needs some help on matters like this."

Michi shook her head. "You don't know what I'm feeling. Hell, I don't even know what I'm feeling."

"Believe me Michi, you'll know if it's…"

Michi snapped back in frustration, "But I don't! Does that mean it's not?!" 

She stopped herself. There was no sense getting angry at Mima. Mima lived through music, but no sappy love song could echo Michi's feelings. 

"Maybe you should talk to him."

With a scoff, Michi replied, "What would I say? 'I might be falling in love with you. I'll keep you posted.' We had everything straightened out. This wasn't supposed to happen to me."

"Be honest. He'll understand."

Frustrated, Michi looked into Mima's eyes. If nothing else, Mima seemed awfully certain about herself. She had reason to- she had gone through the process and was enjoying a successful relationship. Perhaps she really did know what she was saying. Perhaps Koji would understand.

Michi first met him when he asked her out, a definitive declaration of romantic interest. Maybe that feeling hadn't left him. Maybe all the talk of not falling in love was his way of being polite. Maybe he considered his pursuit of her futile and gave up the chase. 

Whatever the case, it was worth a shot. Level with him and let him make the next move. Michi thanked Mima for the advice and began the journey back to the hotel. While Mima was far too sentimental for Michi's taste, she was finding success by following her heart. With Koji waiting, Michi figured it was a good time to learn how to listen to it.

Koji and Mari quickly realized the fallacy of discussing everything during a walk. They both wanted to get outside into the evening air, but so did everybody else in Odaiba. Neither of the two knew who would be listening, and neither wanted to take chances. 

The two went several blocks without saying a word. For Koji, it wasn't just the paranoia of who was watching. He was enjoying the silent moment with Mari. They didn't need words to grow closer. He took her hand. She smiled at him. That said it all.

Eventually, the pedestrians on the street crowded the pair. They needed to be alone. Koji suggested his hotel room, and Mari naturally hesitated. After realizing the ill intentions she could conjure up, he pointed out that he wasn't going to try anything stupid with Michi due back. Not only that, but he wanted Michi to meet Mari. The explanation was enough for Mari to accept the offer.

Once in the room, however, they spent an hour talking. They brought up every nuance of their situation. As Koji summarized his experiences with the Chosen in the Digital World, Mari also described her visit. It helped answer a few questions, like why Izzy had been so confident in his ability to send Koji home. Although he wondered why Izzy had never brought Mari up, Koji trusted that Izzy had his reasons.

The details of their stories frequently coincided. Neither Koji nor Mari could explain how they got in. And just as Koji didn't want to bring up his life before crossing over, Mari couldn't bring up hers. To her, everything that happened before entering the Digital World was a blurry illusion.

The stories of during and before were relevant, but not particularly painful. But after returning to reality, they were both forced into silence. It had always been a little agonizing for Koji. At first, Dwayne's advice on abandoning the Digital World seemed like a betrayal, but he grew used to it. Dwayne knew what he was talking about, and Koji wasn't in a position to say anything out of line. 

Mari was in a similar situation with her mother. But it was more personal than Koji's situation with Dwayne. Aya had been alone for years. When her daughter returned and explained how Izzy was alive, it was more emotional than anything Koji could have said to Dwayne- but it was not joyful. Mari never knew if Aya really believed her.

"I don't know what was wrong, but my mother never got excited when I told her Dad was still alive," Mari told Koji. "All she said was that I couldn't tell anybody. Which was so difficult for me."

Nobody in New York knew Koji was missing. When he reappeared, it wasn't a big deal. But everybody close to Mari's family knew about her disappearance. Her return drew tremendous attention. Everybody from family members to journalists to government officials asked where she had been. 

"And I… I couldn't say anything. They were all crowding me and…" 

She stopped, unable to continue. Koji could see her hands shaking. He stood from the bed and approached her. Carefully sitting on the arm of her chair, he held her, guiding her head to his chest.

"You can tell me whatever you need to," he whispered, "Whatever you want to. I'm here for you."

She threw her arms around him. After a few moments of his comforts, she backed away and looked up at him. He stared back as she leaned forward, closing his eyes as his head began to match her movement. All that remained was to wait for the inevitable meeting of their lips. 

Their kiss grew deeper as it grew longer. His mouth opened wider as he took in more and more of her emotion. Koji's arms ran up and down her back as she tightened her grip around his waist. Wanting more, he leaned in closer. Gravity brought his head down from the clouds for a moment; he lost his balance and he fell into her, knocking her head into the back of the chair. She released her lips and rubbed the back of her head, but guided Koji's mouth back onto her own before the moment was lost.

Koji let his instincts take over, using his mind only as a reminder to continue breathing. It was a non-issue; every breath was Mari, just as every taste, scent, and feeling was Mari. He fell further into the chair, but she didn't react until her right leg brushed up against his side. 

As this moment lasted, Koji lost track of time. They could have been in that position for minutes or days, it didn't matter. His left hand continued to explore, finally settling on her exposed thigh. He was already aroused. He longed to go further, and could feel Mari wanting the same. Neither cared that they just met. Their shared individual experiences made them feel like they had known each other for years. 

Koji's hand began trailing up her leg to the hem of her dress and hand went under for a brief moment; but he forced it to stop there. With Michi due back at any moment, he had to resist the temptation. 

Koji and Mari did not unlock their lips until the door unlocked some time later. They released each other, and Koji smiled as they tried to separate into a more decent position. He stumbled a bit as he swung around, almost falling over the other armrest. He and Mari shared a laugh and Koji jumped to his feet and greeted Michi as she walked through the door.

"Hey Michi." He stopped immediately, a little dizzy because of the sudden change in altitude. Koji got his bearings back and smiled. "How did it go?"

He finally noticed the frown on Michi's face as she looked past Koji and concentrated on the girl catching her breath on the chair behind him.

"Yeah… um…" Koji backpedaled and sat on the armrest. "This is Mari. She's been going through the same thing I have and we were just up here talking." He rubbed Mari's shoulder and noticed her crimson face. "I guess things just clicked." 

He looked back up at Michi, who appeared no less puzzled. "You know how these things go sometimes," he added.

Michi continued to stare at Mari, before slowly bringing her eyes up to Koji. Unfazed, he changed the subject. "So did you find Mima?" 

"Um… yeah," Michi replied quietly. 

Koji stood, smiled, and gently took her arm. "That's great! Did you give her the letter?"

She nodded, speechless.

"Did she have any questions? Does she want to talk to me? Now that I think about it, some stuff happened to Cody so it might be a weird letter."

"No. She's fine. She's very happy." 

Koji could tell something was wrong. Her face was blank and expressionless, a sharp departure from her usual bright confidence. "Are you okay? Did something happen while you were there?" 

Closing her eyes, she slowly shook her head. 

Koji looked back at Mari, who stood up and put a hand on his shoulder. "I hope this isn't about Mari and I. I mean, we weren't going to… you know. We're not trying to creep you out or anything."

She looked away. "No… of course not." 

Koji knew she was still upset about something, but apparently she didn't feel like sharing.

"I'm going to… take a walk," Michi mumbled as she quietly walked out the door.

Koji let her go. There was no sense in chasing her down and demanding an answer. 

But it still troubled him. He walked past Mari and laid down on the bed. Mari was important, yes, but he had dragged Michi into this and felt responsible for her. As much as he knew she could stand on her own, he wanted to support her as much as she supported him.

He didn't notice Mari until she sat on the bed and stroked his hair. "It's alright. I'm sure she just needs to straighten something out. She'll be back before you know it."

Koji looked up at her smiling face. Mari was right. Michi was too strong for anything to get her down for too long. Whatever it was, she was bound to get over it.

"Damn, damn, damn," Chiaki muttered as he paced back and forth in the alley outside the hotel. During lunch, he had planted a fresh bug on Michi's dress. He had picked up the conversation with Kensuke fine, but something had happened between then and the meeting with Davis. As a result, he had lost track of them for a few hours. 

"Some detective I'm going to be," he thought. He was doubtful that he'd pick anything up in their hotel room. He wasn't even sure which room they were in; anything above the second floor wouldn't pick up even if the bug was working. 

Finally, he gave up, stepping out from the alley and into the lamp-lit street. Tracking Michi and Koji was his big chance to prove himself. Despite his early success, ultimately, he blew it. He didn't even know if the pair got the addresses they were looking for. Without knowing that, the only thing left was for him to return home a failure.

At that moment, Chiaki noticed a girl exiting the hotel resembling Michi. As he took a step forward for a closer look, she turned to him. It was definitely Michi. 

He was tempted to sprint out of there, but something was clearly wrong. This wasn't the same lively Michi he met before. 

"Ch… Chiaki?" she asked, barely above a whisper.

Without thinking, he replied, "What's wrong?" 

As instinctive as it was, his concern was sincere. Whatever had happened to transform her from sharp to broken must have been serious.

She didn't respond, instead turning away from him and slumping. 

He took a step forward. "Michi?" 

She remained immobile. Determine to see her face, he approached her and placed a hand on her shoulder. Chiaki walked around so he could get a better look on her face. He could only make out two closed eyes emitting a slow stream of tears. As he stood in front of her, Michi's head drooped forward, quivering as it rested on Chiaki's shoulder.

Chiaki wanted to back away, but couldn't. He never encountered a situation like this before, personally or professionally. He did the only thing he could think of- he pat her head with one hand and rubbed her back with the other. Chiaki found himself saying something about how it was going to be alright. But in all honesty, he didn't have a clue.  
  
**To Be Continued in "Stage Five- Imposter"**

**Author's Notes  
**It's always something, isn't it? Anyone who expected the situation to clear up a bit probably should know better by now. It never gets easy, especially when all that romance stuff gets in the way. And to think- the bad guys haven't even made themselves known yet. Next time, as our heroes try to pick up the pieces… that's when the bad guys show up.  
  
I like to refer to each segment as a stage instead of a chapter for various reasons. One is because the story is not entirely about Takato's journeys, it's also the story of what went wrong, and how everybody responded to everything going wrong. In that regard, the big picture is slowly revealed in stages (the other reason is because of far too much inspiration from anime that doesn't call its episodes episodes, but rather layers, lessons, acts, or illusions).   
  
Keeping that in mind, that's why I waited before revealing the incident with Jim Kido. His murder was on the minds of everybody beforehand, and justifies everybody's erring on the side of paranoia, but it would have been a little too much information last stage. However, the incident was referred to briefly in Level 1.   
  
The name Mima is a reference to an inside joke among my friends that Cody's daughter bears an uncanny resemblance to Tomoyo Daidouji from Cardcaptor Sakura. Therefore, everybody in Cody's history is named after Tomoyo's voice actress, Junko Iwao, and her characters. Cody's wife is named after Junko herself, while Mima is named after Iwao's characters in Perfect Blue and Key the Metal Idol (both aspiring pop stars). Touji is named after the love interest of Iwao's character Hikari in Evangelion and Akane Aomori (mentioned in Level 1 as "the one that got away") is named after Akane Aikawa in Magic User's Club. And for the record, Kensuke is not named after Touji's sidekick, but rather…  well you should read enough Digimon fanfic to know.  
  
Finally, with Michi starting to lose it, it's only fair to give you an angst alert now. As I've told many people through e-mail, Michi is the daughter of Matt and Sora. And therefore, she's inherited a whole lot of suppressed angst. That will be coming out over the next few stages. And since this is Matt and Sora's blood, this isn't that contemporary angst that Jeri and Koichi made popular. We're talking season one, old school, hardcore, sucked into the cave of darkness angst. So you have that to look forward to.  
  
This ends Level 2: Stage 4 of The Connection.


	5. Imposter

_**Level 2- Children**  
  
__Mima__ Hida- Age 20__  
Born to Cody and Junko Hida on September 3, 2019__  
Freelance Singer__  
Currently living in Odaiba, Tokyo with boyfriend Touji_  
  
**Stage Five- Imposter  
  
**Koji woke the next morning with a beautiful girl in his arms. But that did not alarm him. He and Mari had rested on the bed the previous night, and apparently both drifted off to sleep. What alarmed him was the relentless sun, filling the entire hotel room with its morning light. It was not the alarm Koji had been hoping for. He sat up and looked across the room. As he had feared, Michi was nowhere in sight.

"Uh oh," he whispered to himself, carefully rolling off of the bed so as not to wake Mari.

Once again, he had been counting on Michi's interruption. The mere anticipation of her return prevented him from doing something regrettable with Mari. But Michi's return also was his cue to escort Mari home. Now it was nine o'clock the next morning, and Mari was waking up.

"Koji?" came the inevitable voice from the bed, "Did we fall asleep?"

"Yeah," Koji replied, standing over the empty futon rolled out on the floor.

"Oh, how embarrassing."

"Don't worry. It's not like we did anything stupid," Koji said.

"That's true." Mari cast her eyes downward for a moment before looking up at Koji. "I take it Michi didn't come back."

"No. I'm starting to get worried," he said. It was almost a lie; Koji was already very worried.

Mari swung her legs over the side of the bed and sat upright. "Maybe we should go look for her." 

"Yeah. But where the heck would she be?"

Mari stood and placed a calming hand on his shoulder. "Well, we're not going to get anywhere sitting here and worrying about it."

Koji smiled at her. She knew he was beyond baseless reassurances. She was instead helping him by saying something useful. These quiet gestures were beginning to convince him that his relationship with Mari was more than circumstantial, that he was genuinely and deeply attracted to everything she encompassed. 

"Right," he answered, and retrieved a change of clothes from the drawer. "First things first- I need to take a shower. That'll give me time to figure out what to do."

Mari nodded, and with a little smile, said, "Okay. I'll just um… wait here."

"All right." Noticing Michi's laptop on the desk, he smiled. "If you need something to do, there's a laptop over there."

Mari turned to the portable computer with interest. "Oh. Thank you."

The focused rain on his face washed away some of Koji's worry. Michi was capable of handling most situations. If something happened, he was confident in her ability to alert him. If she made a conscious decision to run off, he trusted that she would make a conscious decision to run back when she was ready. 

Somewhere between rinse and repeat, he considered Michi's other option- Yolei Ichijouji. If she wasn't able to return to the hotel, Yolei was the safe harbor. Although Koji would have expected Michi to contact him if she had gone to Tamachi, she certainly wouldn't have hesitated to use the resource if the need had arisen. There was no way of being sure, but it was definitely worth checking out.

With cleansed spirit and a new day's wardrobe, Koji left the lavatory ready to announce his plans to Mari. 

The computer was operating on the desk, displaying an e-mail on the screen. Mari, however, was slumped over on the bed, her hands trembling, her body shaking. 

"What's wrong?" Koji asked.

She gave no response at first, then whispered, "I'm Mari Izumi."

He walked up to her, sat next to her, and held her carefully as she continued to shake. It was hard to be supportive when he didn't know what the problem was. Guessing it had to do with the e-mail, he asked permission to read the message.

Emphatically, she replied, "Yes, but I *am* Mari Izumi."

Koji approached the laptop. Whatever this was, they didn't need it. They had enough problems as it was. He read the subject heading- "IMPOSTER."

With a gulp, Koji's eyes trailed through the rest of the message:

_"And so the charade ceaselessly continues, MARI. As months cede to years, the truth is obscured and MARI is apparent. You will be exposed one day. Perhaps I shall lift the mask eventually, but currently your ruse is mutually beneficial to me. MARI is alive and well; the world rejoices. Perhaps YOUR mother will choose to recognize you as the imposter you are. You can only pretend for a finite time. No matter how endearing you are to any of my colleagues, you are not Mari Izumi.  
  
Your digital companion,  
ALICE"_

Koji stepped back. The message was eerily frightening to him as well. The tone was vague, absent of any details that could clue him in to the sender. He wanted to advance forth and delete the demon message, but he couldn't. It was Mari's beast, and the best he could do was comfort her as she fought its attack.

She could only ramble: "I am Mari Izumi, I am Mari Izumi, I am Mari Izumi..."

Koji remained silent as the message seeped into his own mind. He didn't know what to believe. He had no reason to believe she wasn't Mari Izumi, but no proof that she was. Not only that, but the name ALICE resonated somehow, holding some faraway significance in his life. Perhaps Alice was one of the many suppressed memories of Takato Matsuki. But for all of Takato's memories that Koji tried to set aside, he could not ignore what he never remembered to begin with.

Haunting as the message was, Koji resolved to ignore the e-mail and move on to more important things. He had two messages of his own to deliver, and he was not going to let Alice's cryptic text get in his way. He stood, and went to retrieve the letters.

"Mari," he said, emphasizing her name, "I don't know what that e-mail was about, but I have to get going. I have to get those last two letters out, and figure out where Michi is." 

In the ensuing silence, he pulled out the letters from TK and Joe. As he looked up each son's address, Mari said, "Do you know where Michi is?"

He turned toward her. She had deleted the e-mail and was approaching him. 

"There's a chance she went to Yolei Ichijouji's house in Tamachi. I'll stop by after I deliver these letters."

"Do you want me to help?" she asked suddenly. 

Koji appreciated the offer, but wasn't sure if enlisting Mari's help was the safest, or smartest, option. "How?" he replied.

Mari folded her hands. Sounding slightly nervous, she explained, "Well, I want to talk to Shinya about that e-mail. I can deliver your letter at the same time."

"I don't think that's a good idea. They'd get suspicious if they saw you together."

Mari shook her head. "No, we've met a couple times before. My mother's friends with his mother. Nobody seems to mind."

Koji sighed. "What was that e-mail about?"

"I don't know. I was hoping Shinya could help me out with that. He seems to know more about all of this than I do."

Despite the hesitancy, Koji agreed. It seemed unnecessarily risky to have Mari deliver the letter instead, but it was awfully convenient. Takuya Takaishi was attending university, and lived on the other side of the city. Going there, followed by a detour in Tamachi, would take all day. And the prospect of having the mission completed that day was too tempting to pass up.

He handed Mari the letter and gave her a kiss on the forehead. "Just be careful. We'll meet back at your apartment tonight."

Carefully pocketing TK's letter, and Yolei and Takuya's addresses, Koji and Mari left the hotel room. 

Koji ran back inside a minute later to shut down Michi's laptop.

When she woke up, Michi found herself alone on an unfamiliar bed in an unfamiliar room. The window allowed just enough light to enter to let Michi find and turn on a nearby lamp. She was in somebody's bedroom, but the bare walls did little to indicate whose it was. 

The previous night was a blur. She could remember agonizing over her feelings for Koji, compounded by her inexperience and fear regarding such issues. Then she remembered Koji, and his guilty smile as he introduced her to Mari. He had been so casual about the whole thing. While Michi deliberated, Koji easily jumped in and won someone's heart.

At that moment, her mental debate was settled. Mari had looked embarrassed and exasperated. She and Koji had been doing something up until Michi walked through the door. Michi could only imagine what it was. And every crude depiction she created told her the same thing- she wanted to be in Mari's place. Michi wanted her heart to pound. She wanted to be excited and passionate and awake. 

But Michi wanted to be with Koji. And just as Michi needed Mari to make her realize what she wanted, Mari also made her realize that he was gone.

From that moment of revelation, the rest of the night was a misty abstract. Through the fog, she could see Chiaki. For some reason, he was waiting for her outside the hotel. He must have guided Michi through the night. The only question was where. All that remained from the previous day were her clothes and the dried tears burning her face. 

She cautiously stepped out of the room and eased down a staircase. The home was a pleasant compromise between large and efficient. As the thin lavender carpeting cushioned her toes, she trailed her fingers down bright, textured walls. On this particular wall were several framed pictures. She stopped at one- a man and a woman smiling behind three beaming children. *Their* children, Michi had no doubt. Their resemblance was unmistakable. The child standing on the left side of the picture was Chiaki. 

Furthermore, Michi recognized Chiaki's mother, who bore the same odd hair color as Chiaki. Michi had seen the woman in pictures before. In fact, if she wasn't mistaken, her stepmother had that very same picture in her bedroom.

"Yolei?" Michi whispered.

"Oh, you're up!" called a voice from the bottom of the stairs, startling Michi. Michi turned to its owner, the same woman from the picture- Yolei Ichijouji.

"I was about to wake you up," Yolei continued, "How are you feeling?"

Michi didn't respond. Instead she stared blankly at the woman, trying to figure out what Yolei wanted to know. 

"You can talk about it later. Are you hungry? Thirsty?"

"I… I am a little thirsty," she murmured.

Yolei smiled and led Michi to the kitchen, asking, "What do have a taste for? Juice? Tea?" Yolei opened the refrigerator. "Alcohol?" she added dryly.

"Water's fine," Michi replied, falling into the nearest chair.

As Yolei filled a glass of tap water, she said, "I still don't know what Chiaki was doing in Odaiba last night. Did he tell you anything?"

Michi received the glass and took a few sips. "No," she replied, adding, "I didn't even know he was your son."

"That doesn't surprise me," Yolei muttered as she sat across from Michi, "He doesn't like to talk about himself. He's guarded, you know? Takes me forever to figure out what he wants for his birthday. And he'd be the last person to admit his parents were you-know-whos."

Again, Michi didn't respond. She remained slumped in her chair, slowly sipping her water. Now it was Chiaki she was thinking about. Yolei raised a good point- why was he in Odaiba helping them out? And after Michi had admitted her lineage, why didn't Chiaki reciprocate and admit his? Either an immense circumspection prevented him from a simple "me too," or he was deliberately hiding it for some unknown reason.

She glanced up at Yolei, who was watching Michi with a concerned frown. Yolei lowered her head and asked, "So what happened between you and Koji?" Looking back up, she quickly added, "That was his name, wasn't it?"

Michi dreaded hearing his name. At that moment, she wanted to ignore every feeling aroused in her because of him. "How do you know this is about him?" she replied coldly.

Yolei raised her eyebrows and smiled a little. "Isn't it always?"

Michi quickly turned her head. "I don't want to talk about it." 

She let a sigh escape as her last memory of Koji began to replay itself. A round of tears was cued to follow, but she violently forced it back by slamming her eyelids shut and violently turning her head. She was determined not to lose it again. Silently she cursed Koji for leading her to this, and that brief burst of bitterness brought her attention back to Yolei.

"Alright, but whenever you're ready to talk about it, let me know. Whatever you're going through, I've probably been there before. When you get to my age, there's not much left to surprise you." For an instant, Yolei looked away as her face blinked melancholy.

It flashed back into sympathy just as quickly. "I'm not going to call Mimi... yet. And you know the situation better than I do, so I trust you'll get a hold of Koji when you're ready." Standing, she took Michi's empty glass and began washing it in the sink. "In the meantime, you're welcome to stay here as long as you need to. You can stay in my daughter's old room."

Too busy with her demons to appreciate her host's graciousness, Michi mumbled back a "thank you."

"It's actually kind of nice having another girl in the house..."

Michi tuned Yolei out and stumbled way out of the kitchen, settling into a couch on the living room. She didn't want to listen to anybody at the moment. Yolei was kind enough, but like everybody else, seemed to have all the answers. Michi was sure she could explain her problem with Koji, whereupon Yolei would immediately drop the perfect solution like candy from a vending machine. The answer was probably obvious, automatic to everybody except Michi.

It was her own fault she was so new at this. She was new at everything. Koji had woken her up. She should have known it wasn't a dream. Her first sixteen years had been spent dormant- always elusive, never committal. With Kori and Tony flanking her, Michi did her thing with such an air of confidence that it was just that- air. Standing on top of the world was no place for someone about to be thrown into the middle of it.

In truth, she was completely unprepared for Koji. Her feelings for him fell somewhere in the realm between friendship and love. Naturally, she couldn't discern which way the scale leaned since she had felt little of either in her life. Kori and Tony were her primary companions- brothers, not friends. She preferred them immensely to her social group- most of whom were either self-absorbed and only interested in discussing themselves, or narrow-minded and completely fixated on one topic of limited interest to Michi. She would, on occasion, be asked out on dates, but she never found any serious interest in any of her suitors, and therefore had no reason to accept their invitations. Koji somehow weaved his way through all of that. She was interested in Koji: interested in being his friend, interested in being his love... but lacking the power to do either.

The train to Takuya's university was anything but fast. Each time it seemed to pick up speed, it would stop at another station. Koji listened intently for his stop, but felt like it would never come. Instead, the droll announcer focused his attentions on meaningless locations. Or at least they should have been meaningless. The farther Koji went the more familiar the names became. He was getting closer. 

As the train pulled out of Yoyogi, Koji's ears were tuned in not for his destination, but rather his departure point:

"Shinjuku."

It was announced just as monotonously as the others, but the word seemed to carry more color this time. Koji hadn't planned for his train going through Shinjuku. Whether he liked it or not, Takato was heading home.

Not that Takato was planning to stop. Koji was in charge, and he had an important mission. He was not about to be sidetracked by his past. Despite what Shinjuku had given him, he had turned it around in New York. He was happier for having left. To Koji Mathews, Shinjuku should have been another meaningless station between him and his destination.

But what exactly had he left behind? Takato had abandoned so much when he left for the Digital World four years earlier. He had no idea how much his world had changed since he began his journey. Especially his friends. If Alice was a testament to what Takato could not remember, she also reminded Koji of what he couldn't forget. Jeri, Henry, Rika- the memories could never go away. Neither could his old friends. They still existed, moving on past Takato and blazing their own trails in life. Where were they? What were they doing? A thirsting curiosity overcame Koji. 

But something held him back. Returning to Shinjuku was a big deal. If his friends were still around, how would they take it? What did they know about his disappearance? More importantly, what did they think of it? Takato couldn't return home without serious ramifications; Koji wasn't sure he wanted to face those. Koji wanted to not care about his old life. He wanted to move on to Takuya, deliver the letter, and find Michi. There was no time for stopping in Shinjuku, looking up his old friends, and showing his face again. Jeri, Henry, and Rika had probably dismissed any notion of seeing Takato ever again. And they wouldn't see him- he would be returning as Koji, eager to satisfy the questions from his past. Koji Mathews was beyond his past- he was facing his present and his future. What reason did Koji have to go backwards?

The train stopped at Shinjuku and opened its doors.

Takato Matsuki hastily stepped off.

Shinya Kido pulled Mari into the apartment and hurried her into his room. 

"You need to give me a little more warning, Mari," he said, carefully closing the door behind him. "Twenty-four hours at the very least."

Mari sat down in an office chair. Shinya had always been overly cautious about who he met with, but she wanted to talk to him immediately. She reassured him that she had taken every precaution necessary in coming over- she didn't use the direct route, making a side trip to a nearby department store in case someone wanted to know where she was going. Even when she and her mother visited the Kido family with purely innocent intentions, her mother still recommended a detour along the way.

After he was content, she gave him the letter right away. She wanted to get that out of the way quickly. That way, her mission from Koji was fulfilled, allowing her to discuss a more complex subject- her e-mail.

His eyes practically bulged through his glasses as he read the letter. 

"I just got my letter, so that's why I didn't call. I wanted you to get this as soon as possible," she said.

"You get right to the point, don't you?" he murmured as his eyes trailed down the page.

"I hope this isn't too much for you at once," she replied, lapsing into silence as he finished reading.

Shinya fell back on his bed and held the letter above his head. His eyes focused on the words with a look of concern. After finishing, he exhaled once before saying, "Is the kid who was with them still around?"

"Yes. He's going to see Takuya as we speak."

"I hope nothing happens to him. This is important evidence."

Mari narrowed her eyes at Shinya. "Don't you understand what it means? Your father is alive."

Shinya sat up and looked at her. "Ever since Uncle Jim died, I knew something was up. Something happened to Dad that nobody told us. I just didn't guess that it was this," he said grimly.

"Are you okay with this?"

Shinya took another look at the letter. "I guess so. This explains everything. What really happened to Dad, why it happened... he even says what happened to Jim. I suppose it's good to have all the answers."

Mari began to nod, but the part about Jim surprised her. "How does it explain what happened to Jim?"

Shinya read aloud, "A few years ago, Izzy and I got an e-mail through to your Uncle Jim. However, we never received a response. I hope he is alright, but given the circumstances, I fear the worst."

Mari opened her mouth to respond, but nothing came out. Nothing had to. She and Shinya both knew what Joe's letter meant. Before Jim could do anything with the e-mail, he had been silenced by the authorities.

Casting a mournful stare at the carpeted floor, Shinya recalled, "The day Jim died, somebody came in to check our computer. Specifically our e-mail program. They just deleted our entire inbox and left without explaining why. From that moment on, I knew something was going on... and that Jim got in the way of it."

Mari was quite surprised by Shinya's openness. She had met with him several times in the past, but this was the first time he had really discussed the incident with his uncle. For years, he had kept his opinions to himself, careful not to say anything incriminating. The letter, combined with his trust in her, was giving him the chance to speak his mind. She knew how freeing it was to release such secrets, but could only wonder how safe it really was for Shinya. He trusted her, but she didn't trust herself.

For all she knew the e-mail was a twisted prank, but it was still upsetting. She wasn't living the intricate lie the sender was implying; she was Mari Izumi by all accounts. But it was the lack of concrete proof that troubled her. She came into the Digital World with conflicting memories- dream-like images that never could have existed in real life. Fortunately, she found Izzy, who recognized her as his daughter, embraced her, and sent her home. She loved her father for doing so, but he failed to explain her past. She was scared because she didn't know herself: she was only Mari because her father said so. She could trust him, obviously, but not knowing for sure made the e-mail all the more painful.

"Are you okay?" Shinya's voice jolted her back into reality. Her neck jerked up toward his bespectacled face. "Looks like something's on your mind."

"Yes. There was something else I wanted to talk to you about. I got a very disturbing e-mail today."

"Go on."

"Basically, it said that I wasn't really Mari Izumi and that I would be exposed as a fraud one day."

Shinya calmly pushed his glasses up. "Well, are you really Mari Izumi?"

"Yes!" she shouted defensively.

"Then there's nothing to worry about."

"I mean…" Mari clasped her hands before continuing softly, "I am, but I don't know for sure. My…" She caught herself about to mention her father, something she was still hesitant to reveal to Shinya. She switched to the other parent and said, "My mother says I am. Isn't that enough?"

"I would hope so." He looked down and began mouthing his next question. Mari gave him time to frame it properly.

"Do you remember anything from before you… disappeared?"

Mari could tell the last word was difficult for Shinya to say. Based on previous get-togethers, he knew it was something she didn't like to bring up. Still preferring not to, she shook her head. "That's the problem. I remember so little about my past that I don't know who I really am."

Shinya scratched his chin. "Let's see… do you remember Motimon?"

Mari sighed. She knew this game. Shinya would blurt out names and places, and just like every other time she played it, she would not be able to remember. She earnestly tried to, but nothing ever came up. 

"No," she replied.

"Your elementary school?"

"No."

"Your father?"

"No." 

"Um… the Digiworld research retreats?"

"No."

"Me?" he asked with an awkward smile.

"No."

"Any of the other Chosen or their kids?"

"No."

"Henry?"

Something in the name made Mari break the pattern of negatives. Henry… somehow that name was familiar. 

"Yes… I remember Henry…" she whispered, awed by her own revelation.

Shinya smiled brightly. "Yeah… you remember Henry. That's not surprising. You and Henry were really close." He leaned forward and patted her on the shoulder. "You have nothing to worry about. You are definitely Mari Izumi." 

She smiled back. It still hurt to not be completely aware of her identity, but Shinya's reassurance did help. Besides, if Henry was such a significant part of her past, perhaps it would lead to other helpful memories.

Shinya stood. To him, the identity crisis was settled. "Yep, you and Henry were great friends. Uncle Jim used to call you the trio of tech tots. Just you, Henry, and Alice. And the rest of the world didn't matter."

Ken Ichijouji never used to fall asleep on the job. He was once very passionate about his work- especially after his career as an undercover police officer segued into detective work. He enjoyed the mind games he played with criminals as much as he enjoyed the board games he played with his sons. 

This new job, however, was a different matter. He wasn't sure what chain of events linked him to it. They could have, and should have, found somebody different. It wasn't difficult, but keeping an eye on Michi and her companion hit a little close to home.

Ken's eyelids began to sink lower and lower, until his brain issued another reminder to stay awake. At that point, his eyes snapped open and his head jumped perpendicular to his shoulders. That was the third time he caught himself napping that day.

Futility and incapacity were the main suspects. Chiaki had lost track of Michi and Koji the previous afternoon. He ended up taking Michi home, and had given up on Koji, so Ken had no recourse. Not that it mattered, since their conversation with Kensuke suggested purely innocent intentions, and Davis assured Ken that Michi and Koji were legitimate. After hearing that, Ken wanted to leave them alone and work on something else. If everything Chiaki said about Michi was right, the last thing she needed was government interference.

If any good did come out of the assignment, it was the experience Chiaki gained. Ken had given his son the opportunity, and Chiaki took advantage of it to the best of his ability. There was plenty of room for improvement, but Ken was proud that Chiaki could steer the course of events in the most opportune direction. 

But now he just wanted to give it up. Unfortunately, he was stuck answering to Yasuo Akiyama, who insisted on following each suspicious circumstance through to the end. Yasuo's hand always seemed to be stirring things. His political career gave Ken nightmares- as the Japanese representative in the United Nations, Yasuo was one of the leading supporters of the Sealing. He had an innate tact; he always knew exactly what to say. Ken had once admired him as a worthy, honorable rival- until he met Yasuo in person.

Ken should have known Yasuo was far from honorable by the way Tai despised him. Tai always befriended everybody he worked with- ally or enemy. Some called it political strategy; Tai called it being a good sport. That was especially apparent with Tai and Michael- who were practically best friends even though they disagreed on almost every policy in existence. But Tai reserved a special disdain for Yasuo. It was only years later, after Ken began working for the man, that he understood Tai's contempt.

Ken looked up from his workstation in time to see Yasuo approaching. His hair, a dazzling black a decade ago, had since turned gray, but he bore the mark of age well with his rigid cut, accented by thin, silver glasses. Through them, his eyes never darted, always concentrating on one thing in the room. Unfortunately for Ken, he was it.

"What's the latest on the Ishida girl?" Yasuo asked, in his usual stark tone that made "I don't know" an unacceptable response.

"We lost track of Ishida." Reasoning that the following truth would render his lie irrelevant, Ken continued, "Something must have happened between her and Mathews. Chiaki saw her running out of the hotel last night. He says she looked pretty bad."

"Hmm... a ruse perhaps?"

Ken shook his head at the notion. Yasuo was convinced Michi Ishida was up to something, and nothing seemed to shake him. "Have you ever considered the possibility that they really are here on spring break and have no ill intentions?"  

"I won't be satisfied until we know for sure."

"Unless one of them slips up, we know as much as we're going to. Chiaki, Kensuke, and Davis all say the same thing- they just want to visit some old friends."

"Can we..."

Ken interrupted, "We can't monitor those visits without them knowing we're doing so. Those families aren't stupid- they know you've been bugging them and have all cleared their homes of the equipment." He was confident about that. Yasuo had tried listening in on their residences years ago, and all of the Chosen families had gone to great lengths to stop it. Even Ken's wife insisted on frequently verifying the absence of any eavesdropping in their own house. 

"You say Ishida disappeared? What about Mathews?"

"Koji?" Ken was thrown off by the question. He was always under the impression that Koji was insignificant, even if he and Michi were up to something. He was nothing more than Michi's boyfriend, at least up until the prior evening.

"I haven't bothered tracking Koji," Ken answered. "He has almost no connection to any of this."

"Why, have you checked?" Yasuo asked, with interest.

"Yes, I have." Ken pulled up a folder on his computer. Inside was all the information Ken could scrounge up regarding Koji Mathews. His record was totally absent of anything incriminating.

As Yasuo looked through Koji's records he said, "You say Koji has *almost* no connection. Is there any?"

Ken cracked a smile as he scrolled down to a section on Koji's roommate. The lone tidbit was so minor, yet so ironic. It also proved how anal Yasuo was about the investigation. 

"He shares an apartment in New York with Dwayne Williams." Still smug, Ken turned to Yasuo. "Dwayne's father was a volunteer helping the Tai Kamiya campaign in 2018." 

To emphasize its insignificance, Ken closed the window on Dwayne's file. Yasuo stubbornly began opening other files in Koji's folder as Ken sat back, reveling in Yasuo's frustration. Yasuo had been looking for something for years. But there was nothing. Yasuo had won the battle against the Chosen long ago. Ken and the others had accepted that. There was no point to stir up any more trouble; yet Yasuo continued to look for it. The only enjoyment Ken received in this job was watching Yasuo's endless search for something that wasn't there.

Yasuo stopped his frantic search the moment a picture of Koji flew onto the screen. Ken looked at the picture, then up at Yasuo. Apparently they were seeing two different things. Ken saw a harmless kid. The only thing about Koji that warranted investigating was what Michi thought was so special about him. But Yasuo was backing away, his eyes unmoving, his nose flaring in angry turmoil. 

"What?" Ken asked.

"Fuck..." Yasuo muttered, before furiously charging out of the room.

Takato's unbound memories carried Koji to an apartment just west of downtown Shinjuku. The plate on the door read "Wong," just as expected. It scared Koji to remember so much about his past. But his sudden urge to face it led him to ring the doorbell.

He closed his eyes, waiting for a response, but none came. He tried again. There was a realistic chance nobody was home, but the profound compulsion that drove Koji suggested an alignment of events laid out precisely for him. Koji was supposed to come here, he was supposed to ring the doorbell, and somebody was supposed to answer it- if not Henry, then Suzy or another of his siblings. 

Nobody answered. After two minutes, Koji walked away, wondering if he could remember the way to Rika's house. Before he got anywhere, he heard two pairs of footsteps noisily climbing the staircase across the hall. Koji paused as Henry and Suzy Wong ascended the stairs and strolled to their apartment.

Both were happily oblivious to Koji at first, chatting to themselves about meaningless topics. The two had grown taller, and each carried signs of maturity in their attentive eyes, but it was definitely them. Besides Henry's wardrobe of a black jacket and matching pants, he looked pretty much the same to Koji. Suzy, however, had clearly evolved into a teenager. The ponytails were gone from her hair, and she was wearing a purple blouse and blue jeans- a far departure from her old pink tones.

Koji stood between the pair and their apartment, so they noticed him eventually. But they each chose a side and passed him, never bothering to look him in the face. "Excuse us," Suzy said quickly.

As the two neared the apartment, Koji turned around. "Henry?" he said.

Finally, Henry turned to Koji. But that was all. Both waited for the other to respond. Impatient, Henry asked, "Yeah, I'm Henry. What do you want?"

Koji pointed to his face. "Henry... it's me. I'm back." 

Henry blankly stared back. He looked down at Suzy, who shared his absent confusion. 

"Takato?" Koji pleaded.

"Henry, do you know him?" Suzy asked, pointing at Koji.

"I don't think so," Henry replied, before returning his attention to Koji. "Am I supposed to know you?"

"Yeah! We were... we were..." Koji couldn't put it into words. They were everything. That Henry wouldn't remember him was unimaginable. 

"We were what?" Henry asked, sourly.

"Tamers!" Koji shouted.

Neither reacted at his outburst, until Suzy finally asked Koji, "What's a Tamer?"

"You know... Digimon?" 

Henry rolled his eyes in disgust. Suzy continued to stare, not comprehending the idea. Still sour, Henry said, "Look... if you want to talk to my Dad, he'll be home in a couple hours. Just don't get me involved with that Digimon stuff. I grew out of that a long time ago."

Koji silently watched as Henry unlocked the apartment door. 

"Digimon? Like in history class?" Suzy asked Henry.

"Yeah. It was before you were born. They're gone now."

"Wait a minute!" Koji blurted suddenly, "Isn't your dad dead?" 

He regretted saying it, but the epiphany had come to him before he knew what to do with it. Still, Koji clearly remembered something about losing Henry's father in a failed effort to retrieve everyone's Digimon. 

It took a second for the comment to register. But when it did, Henry turned to Koji. "How dare you say that?" he snarled through clenched teeth. 

"Sorry... I guess he came back."

"Of course he came back! He never should have left!" 

"Henry..." Suzy pleaded weakly, tugging on his arm. 

"Sue, go inside," her brother ordered. She did so without hesitation.

Koji grew more nervous as Henry's fury increased. Still, he was determined to get some answers. "What about Rika? Where's she?"

"I don't know anyone named Rika. Never did. So come on, who the hell are you?"

"Takato Matsuki!" Koji shouted. 

Henry shook his head, controlling himself. "Whoever you are, just get out of here before we call the police. I don't know what you're talking about. Frankly, I don't want to know. So leave Sue and I alone."

Before Koji could get another word in, Henry was inside. The door slammed shut; the sound of the deadbolt lock kept Koji from pursuing the issue further. He slowly walked to the staircase and descended. 

Koji briefly considered hunting down someone like Rika or Kazu, but gave up the thought, resigning himself to aimless wandering. Henry didn't remember him. What chance was there that Rika or Kazu would?

The moment he saw Henry, he had been briefly reassured that his old world still existed somewhere. But Henry had never known Takato Matsuki. Had anyone ever known Takato Matsuki? Did Takato ever really exist?

"Exist."

Izzy's advice when Koji left the Digital World still resounded. Koji was doing his best to follow through, but never really considered the meaning of the word. He certainly thought he had existed once as Takato. He thought he and his Digimon had saved the world once. Perhaps that was all a figment of his imagination.

Without realizing it, his legs had taken him to a park amid the shadow of skyscrapers. Any efforts to suppress his memories had failed; Koji recalled the place vividly. Was it from some extended dream? Even if it became a nightmare in the end, Koji wanted it to be real. Takato still had so many positive memories; Koji wanted them to be authentic. His parents had died tragically, but Koji wanted to know he once had them. His childhood crush had discarded him, but Koji wanted to know he had once loved and lost. His Digimon companion had left him, but Koji wanted to know Guilmon was real.

"Guilmon..." 

Koji knew exactly where in the park his partner's house was. The shed was slightly off the path, but it was still there, as radiant as ever. This was where it all started. Where Guilmon passed the time between Takato's visits, and where Takato ultimately fled to in desperation. 

Koji eagerly ran up to it, but the gate was chained and locked. 

Slightly disappointed, but undaunted, Koji peered inside, hoping for any sign that his best friend had been there years ago. But nothing surfaced. The interior was bare. Not even the hole that opened the portal to the Digital World was there. Koji threw his hands on the bars and shook them. Nothing happened.

Koji fell to his knees. His past was completely gone. Was it ever there to begin with? 

He turned around, sitting with his back against the bars. He could see a nearby playground, where children idly played with their human friends. Koji could merely sit and wonder if his childhood was real or imaginary. 

He didn't feel like getting up. At the moment, the present didn't exist either. He had no letter from TK Takaishi. He had no responsibility to look for Michi. His existence was composing of nothing but staring at the lives on the playground.

Suddenly, Koji's view was obstructed. He looked up and saw a tall man with short, blond hair. He was staring directly at Koji, in a quiet, perplexed manner. Koji recognized him, but struggled to come up with a name.

The man came up with a name first. "Takato?" 

Koji stood, instantly elated. He had been dying to hear it since he first stepped off the train. 

"Yes. Yes!" he shouted, taking a step toward the man. "I remember you! You're... you're..."

"Yamaki," the man answered, "Mitsuo Yamaki." After a sigh, he continued, "Are you really Takato Matsuki?"

"Yes. I'm Takato Matsuki."

Before he could ask Yamaki anything about what happened, the man placed a hand on Koji's shoulder. But it wasn't reassuring. Yamaki clenched Koji's jacket, pinching the boy's skin.

"I was afraid of that."

Yamaki forced Koji away from the shed. Koji immediately sensed that something was wrong, and tried to wrestle free from Yamaki's grip. He eventually succeeded and started running.

"It's no use Takato," he heard Yamaki call, "You can't run from the world!"

Koji only put forty yards behind himself and Yamaki before a car drove along the path, trying to block his escape. Koji ran off the path as two men jumped out of the car, dressed in black suits. Before he could get anywhere, they had chased him down and were dragging him to the car. He tried to fight their grasp, but they responded by lifting him higher, until his feet were off the ground. The men threw Koji into the car; his head collided hard with the opposite door. In his fading consciousness, he saw Yamaki join him in the back seat. Yamaki pulled out a phone.

"Yasuo?" Yamaki turned to Koji as the boy blacked out, "We got him."  
  
**To Be Continued in "Stage Six- Control"**

**Author's Notes  
**Since I started planning this out (yes, everything is planned out, and I do know exactly what's going on), I was really looking forward to the last stage and this one. This is one of the most disturbing stages, since Koji is faced with the most disturbing images. For most of Level 2, most of the weirdness is artificial- the story is actually very understandable, it's just the mood of it all that creates confusion (a stark contrast to Level 1, where there were clearly some strange forces at work, even though the mood was much brighter). Not with this stage- Alice's e-mail and the concluding scenes were just plain bizarre. The good news is that Koji is about to get the explanation of a lifetime- whether he can handle it or not.  
  
It seems like I'm constantly adding things to the story, but it's absolutely necessary for purposes of these all-encompassing epics. Since seven of the Chosen were heavily featured in Level 1, the others have to get due representation. And that means focusing on Yolei and Ken. Some of the undertones in the conversation with Michi tell you a lot about Yolei's situation. And there's certainly a lot of questions to be raised from Ken working with Yasuo. While we're on the subject of all-encompassing, note Yasuo's last name- Akiyama. You know I can't leave Ryo out of this.  
  
A few important reminders from Level 1- stage four covered the loss of Janyuu, while Izzy discussed Mari and Henry's friendship in the final two stages.   
  
In case you lost count, Henry and Suzy have aged six years from the time Tamers took place, making Henry about 19 and Suzy about 13. Henry calling his sister "Sue" merely suggests Suzy's attempt at maturity; she wants a more grown-up name.   
  
This ends Level 2: Stage 5 of The Connection.


	6. Control

_**Level 2- Children**  
_  
_Chiaki Ichijouji- Age 16  
Born to Ken and Yolei Ichijouji on December 6, 2023  
Second year high school student  
Currently living in Tamachi, Tokyo with parents Ken and Yolei and brother Masayuki_  
  
**Stage Six- Control****  
  
**So many visions ran through Koji's mind that he registered very few of them. He thought he saw Henry trying to explain the more technical nuances of the Digital World. He thought he saw Mother D-Reaper towering over his city, devouring everything he loved. He thought he saw Guilmon. 

"Takato?"

The sound of Yamaki's voice pulled Koji back to reality. His eyes opened and he immediately felt pain in the right side of his neck and his left arm. He was slumped over in an office chair; his chest pinning his arm to the armrest. He freed the limb and rubbed his neck, trying to regain his bearings. The room was small, dimly lit by two overhead lamps. Yamaki sat on the other end of a table. Before Koji could attempt to speak, Yamaki held up his cell phone.

"He's awake."

Yamaki set the phone on the table. He reached for a pair of sunglasses in the breast pocket of his suit, leaned back in his chair, and casually cleaned them with a handkerchief until a second man entered. Koji did not recognize him, and he feared the contemptuous look in the stranger's eyes. Whoever this person was, Koji could tell he was trouble. He quietly bore the brunt of the man's stare until those foul eyes turned to Yamaki. In a flash, Koji quietly slid out of his chair and jumped for the door.

Yamaki noticed, of course, and by turning alerted the man, who quickly spun around and threw his hand in Koji's path. Just as well- Koji had no idea what to do even if he did escape.

"I was hoping we could get through this without resorting to shackles and restraints," the man said calmly as he forced Koji back into the seat.  

Koji's discomfort increased, as did his sense of helplessness. He could tell this wouldn't be pleasant, but until he knew what he was going to suffer through, he would not know his best action.

With perfect neutrality, the man continued, "Takato, just so you understand the situation: we have the ability to destroy you with no consequence. Hope we resort to that later rather than sooner."

Koji tried to bear that bravely, but was choked by the thought of his destruction taken so lightly. "Who are you?" he exhaled between staggered breaths. 

"Yasuo. Who are you?" 

Koji forced himself to calm down. He stared back at Yasuo and replied, "Koji Mathews."

"Koji Mathews is dead, Takato. There will be no more pretending that you have the right to exist in this world." 

"Then why am I here?" 

Yamaki replied, "That's what we intend to find out."

Now Koji could feel both men staring down on him. His eyes darted between the two. "So what, if I tell you what I know, you'll let me live?" he asked nervously. It was an ambitious thought, but he was at whatever mercy Yasuo and Yamaki possessed. He had to maintain some hope that he would one day be able to resume his life, Takato's life, or any life for that matter.

Yasuo's glare remained cold. "At this point, it's more about us letting Dwayne, Mimi, and Michi live. Your fate is sealed."

Koji looked at Yamaki, desperate for some reassurance. For a second, Koji thought he saw Yamaki cast a brief sign of disapproval at Yasuo, but lowered his eyes and shook his head just as quickly.

That was that- Koji was pinned against the wall and had no movement. His friends had offered shelter, information, and support. Now they were prisoners of Yasuo's power. Even if he cooperated on their behalf, Koji's only reward would be his own termination- a foregone conclusion to Yasuo. He was in no position to save himself here, but hopefully he could at least protect his friends and look for a way out later.

But even if he was doomed at the hands of the two men, he still had one request: "I just want to know what's going on. Tell me that much and promise that you won't hurt Michi or the others, then I'll tell you how I got here."

"Takato, you may not want to know the truth," Yamaki said, standing. He paced back and forth. "Janyuu and the others went to great lengths to conceal it before. And with good reason."

"Janyuu?" Koji blurted. Yasuo scoffed at the name.

"Yes. It was more than just a pet project, it was more than just some college students, and they created more than just your Digital World," Yamaki replied.

Koji quivered in his seat. He had known that somewhere along the line somebody had to be feeding him lies. He just hadn't considered that it went that far back.

Yasuo sat down as Yamaki explained: "Soon after the Sealing in 2028, a group of Digital World researchers found themselves out of a job. So they began researching ways to reintroduce Digimon to society, or at the very least allow for a healthy relationship between the two."

"This was primarily the work of Rob McCoy and a few of his stooges," Yasuo added.

Slightly annoyed by the interruption, Yamaki continued: "Recent developments in virtual reality and artificial intelligence had resulted in a program- a virtual simulation as real as whatever parameters the programmer sets for it. It was called the MAXIS, developed mostly for medical purposes: identifying the long-term effects of certain treatments and such. Dr. McCoy and his associates used this program to create their own reality... with their own Digital World."

"And that was..." Koji gulped as he realized what he was about to say- 

"My world," he mouthed. A simulation. An experiment. A fake.

"And that never should have been created to begin with," Yasuo answered for Koji, shaking his head, "In fact, as soon as the American government found out about the experiment, funding for it was immediately ceased. A deconstruction program, the D-Reaper which I'm sure you're familiar with, was sent in. But somehow your world survived."

"However that happened, Goro Mizuno, one of the researchers, noticed this and began monitoring the project on its own," Yamaki continued, "Eventually the world evolved so much,"

"Artificially motivated by Mr. Mizuno," interrupted Yasuo.

With another head shake, Yamaki corrected Yasuo. "We don't know if Mizuno had a hand in the Digital World's evolution in the MAXIS or not. But whatever the case, the world had evolved so much that Mizuno restarted the project, with financial support from a private donor. Because of this, the government couldn't interfere by taking the money away. So Yasuo volunteered to oversee the project."

"We agreed to establish an organization to monitor the connection between the two worlds within the MAXIS. By now, the technology allowed us to physically enter this world, and we hired Yamaki to develop and head our Hypnos program."

"Hypnos..." whispered Koji.

Yamaki nodded. "Yes. I entered the MAXIS along with a couple assistants and one of the researchers- Janyuu Wong."

Koji stood and slammed his hands on the table. Yasuo made a motion to guard the exit, but stopped when Koji yelled, "Wait a minute! Janyuu had his family in there!"

With a sigh, Yamaki walked around the table and put a hand on Koji's shoulder. Looking him directly in the eye, he said, "Yes. The MAXIS allows for the creation of simulated humans with any predefined traits- appearance, behavior, you name it. Janyuu essentially recreated his entire family in order to keep company."

Koji's eyes trailed from Yamaki to the floor. "Including..."

"Yes. The Henry you befriended was merely a virtual duplication of the real Henry Wong in this world."

Falling back into his chair, Koji stared straight ahead in a dazed stupor. The Henry he knew before was merely a clone- a fake created solely for his father's amusement. That meant the genuine copy was the aggravated, distrusting bully who chewed him out earlier. 

Koji probably didn't have to believe it. He certainly didn't want to believe it. Koji perceived Yasuo as the type to orchestrate lies. And yet, he accepted it. Deep down, something sown within him made him accept this story as truth. 

"You understand now why your presence is so troubling," Yasuo said, "If something created in the MAXIS can find their way here, imagine the possibilities."

"Yes," Yamaki said with a grave nod, "Long story short- you are not real. Yet you are here. Why?"

Managing to turn to Yamaki, Koji sullenly asked, "Why are you asking me this? You helped us. You were one of the good guys. We could never have beaten D-Reaper without you."

"The more pressing question is why did he help you." Koji quickly turned to Yasuo, his eyes targeting Yamaki, his mouth in a snarling half-smile, awaiting Yamaki's answer.

Taking a nearby seat, Yamaki provided it: "After the battle against Vikaralamon did so much damage, and literally crashed the Hypnos system, the project was deemed a failure and Yasuo sent D-Reaper to eradicate the worlds." Yamaki paused and looked up at Yasuo. "At the time, I guess I wasn't ready to completely destroy the world. One of my co-workers, Riley, convinced me to stand against its destruction. With the rest of the program's creators, we agreed to help fight off D-Reaper."

"And such a heroic effort it was too Mitsuo," Yasuo mocked, "You won, the world was spared, and we all moved on, leaving these simulated beings to live their simulated lives. Because as you all insisted, there couldn't possibly be any harm in that."

As Yasuo continued to stare down Yamaki, Koji felt the urge to stand up for his old ally. He wanted to say something about how thankful he was for Yamaki's support. But he remained silent. Although Yamaki had let Koji live, both men seemed to resent that now. With Koji apparently non-existent in the minds of these two, no amount of his support could help Yamaki.

Instead, he questioned the sole reason for Takato's significance: "So where did I fit into this whole project?" 

"For all I know, it was some divine accident," Yamaki answered flatly, "The project had no room to intentionally allow children to tame Digimon. It was one of the many surprises we had to cope with."

"Actually, Mitsuo, you're only half-right." Both Koji and Yamaki turned to Yasuo, who stood and faced the opposite wall. "It's true that the revived project had no intention to partner humans and Digimon. There was some other force at work there. But the original project did account for such a possibility."

"I was never made aware of this."

"Yes, I only found out after looking through the original specifications. But the researchers did want to someday bring Digimon to the real world under the supervision of human children. The proposal called for one child to be created with very specific traits. They specified everything- personality, appearance, social status, residency... name." Yasuo turned around and faced Koji. "They all believed it was the most ideal human for taming a Digimon."

"Let me guess- Ryo?" Koji suggested.

"No..." Yasuo said, momentarily flashing a spiteful sneer. "They named him Takato Matsuki."

Mari slept very little that night. Koji never returned from his journey to deliver Takuya's letter and find Michi. Something had obviously happened. No false hope could disguise the circumstances- this endeavor was too risky; it couldn't possibly succeed without incident. But the next day, Mari had few clues to what had happened.

She came to a difficult conclusion when she boarded a train for Takuya's university. Part of her wanted to distance herself from the whole thing. It was already getting too dangerous, and hunting down Koji could only lead to more trouble. But she cared too much to leave him to whatever fate designed for him. He was the first person she been able to open up to in a long time. She had to at least try to help him in return. Her final decision was cemented by the other clear fact- she was genuinely attracted to him.

Mari was doubly nervous as she buzzed Takuya's dorm room. She had never been here before; if anyone was watching they'd certainly be suspicious. But tracing Koji's path was more important than her security. In her mind, Mari made up an excuse about wanting to interview Takuya for a report on his father. Hopefully that was a suitable justification for the trip.

Takuya arrived, but didn't recognize her at first. After a long glance, he scratched his head. "Mari?"

"Oh good. For a second there I was afraid you didn't remember me. May I come in? I need to talk to you."

"Um... I guess... just hurry up and get in here." 

As he led her upstairs, he asked, "Is anyone following you?" 

"I don't think so."

He still seemed nervous, and the neighbors on his floor did little to help. After a few tasteless shouts, sparked by the girl accompanying him, Takuya led Mari into his room, slamming the door behind him. Several of the remarks painted Mari's face red. 

"Do they think we're going to..." 

Takuya laughed. "Hey, better that then something shady. Don't worry about it Mari. You'll never see them again and it only helps my reputation!" 

Mari managed a sigh. She began to sit on the bed, but quickly moved to a chair. Takuya noticed this and added, with a wry smile, "Of course, if they tell my girlfriend..."

A chuckle escaped Mari's mouth. "Anyway..." she began, "Did a boy about my age visit you yesterday? His name was Koji Mathews."

Takuya shook his head. "No. Jeez, did you come all the way over here to ask that? I have a phone, you know."

"It's not safe to use the phone. We don't know who else is listening."

His eyes narrowing out of concern, Takuya sat on the bed. "Why? Is something going on?"

"Yeah. And I think somebody got a hold of Koji. He said he was going to talk to you."

"And he never made it? He didn't leave any messages for me downstairs. Who is he?"

Mari looked around nervously, to make sure there was no hidden eavesdropper in the room. She leaned in toward Takuya. "He knows something he's not supposed to. He was coming to tell you."

Takuya blinked, clueless. "Tell me what?"

After looking around again, Mari took a scrap of paper from his desk and a pen. Takuya rose to his feet and looked over her shoulder as she scrawled, "Your father is alive."

He backed away, almost banging his head against his roommate's loft. Mari returned to her seat, letting him have his natural reaction. However, he merely exhaled and turned to her.

"Are you shitting me?" 

She shook her head. "Koji had proof as well. A letter. Just as he had one from my father, and from everyone else who disappeared twelve years ago."

"Where are they?" 

Lowering her voice, she replied, "Digital World. Koji found a way in, lived with them for a couple years, and found a way out."

Takuya folded his arms. "Huh. No wonder you're worried about someone getting a hold of him. If this is all true, there are a lot of people who would want him out of the way."

"I know. I'm really worried about him." 

He left Mari to her worries, once again sitting on the bed. When Mari looked up, he was staring at the paper, still lying on the desk. 

"What do you think of TK being alive?" she asked.

"I don't know," he replied, "It probably doesn't mean as much to me as it would to someone whose dad actually cared."

"What do you mean?" Mari asked abruptly. She didn't mean to pry, but Takuya's statement surprised her.

"My parents were heading for divorce anyway. I'm sure they probably loved each other once, but I think they got so tired of each other that they stopped caring. I always got the feeling that Dad just kind of took us for granted."

Mari tried to interrupt, but Takuya kept going: "The worst part was all the praise he got because of those books. He was always getting awards and stuff. And he was a nice guy when it came to all that, but even then it got annoying. He was always giving speeches about improving Digital World relations. And making such a big deal about all of his old adventures. And you can imagine Mom's reaction when he said he should have considered marrying what's-her-face Kari because it would have been a more popular ending." 

He took a breath, which calmed him down. "He was a good guy, but that's all everybody saw. Nobody knew that Dad could really be a jerk sometimes. Even after he died, or disappeared or whatever, when that book turned into a cartoon, everybody would joke about my name. No matter what I do, my biggest trademark is being named for a fucking gogglehead."

Mari was speechless. She wasn't expecting Takuya to begin ranting like that. Takuya seemed to notice and immediately apologized. "Sorry. It just bugs me when people say my father, or any of the Chosen for that matter, were all perfect role models." He paused, and continued, kinder, "But thanks for telling me about Dad. I hope he's happy."

Mari smiled. Takuya's face was more reassuring now, and she was able to reply, "Yes. Koji said they were all doing quite well."

"I hope your friend's alright. Tell you what- I'll get a hold of my mom. She was doing something with the government a few years ago. Maybe she can dig something up on where he is."

Raising her hands, Mari pleaded, "Oh, I don't want to get her into trouble."

"I don't think it'll be too much trouble. And if it is, she's smart enough to stay away from it. But I'll let her know either way."

Takuya's smile convinced her to let him help out with the search. He promised to let her know if anything turned up, and thanked her for the information. 

As she began to leave, a second student entered the room and immediately looked at Mari. "Hello..." he said with sly interest.

Takuya sprang to his feet and introduced him, "Mari, this is my roommate Kouta." He turned to Kouta. "This is Mari, a friend."

With Kouta still staring at Mari, and now raising an eyebrow, Mari bowed, and went into her story. "Yes, I'm working on a school project on his father and asked Takuya for some information." She faced Takuya and smiled. "I got a lot more than I was expecting."

She excused herself and hustled out of the dormitory.

Michi felt uncomfortable trying on Miho's clothes. With Yolei's daughter married and out of the house, Michi was free to delve through whatever she left behind. A shirt was no issue- Michi found something loose and bland enough to not attract anyone's attention. But jeans were a different issue. If Miho's closet mostly contained relics from her teen years, as Michi inferred, Miho was obviously a few hairs smaller than Michi. Still, she forced herself into a pair. It was indeed uncomfortable, but she hadn't felt comfortable in some time. She had no reason to start now.

She walked downstairs, her denim hairshirt wringing her waist. Michi entered the kitchen and found Yolei occupied with a phone call. Half of the dinner table was neatly prepared, the other half a strewn assortment of plates, napkins, and utensils.

"Yes, I was asking about the job…" As Yolei eagerly waited on the other end, she noticed Michi. She tilted her head slightly, a curious expression on her face. The conversation must have resumed, as she quickly turned away.

"Oh… are you sure?" Yolei asked, disappointed. She nodded a few times at whatever response she was given, and replied, "I see. Well, thanks for your time."

Yolei set the cordless phone aside. She continued to stare at the wall as Michi approached her.

"Didn't Miho have any dresses up there?" Yolei's tone hadn't changed from her conversation on the phone. She turned around once more. "I'd be really surprised if those jeans fit you."

"They're fine," Michi replied. 

Yolei began arranging the unkempt side of the table as Michi watched. Neither spoke until they heard Chiaki's cry of "I'm home!" from the front door.

"Welcome home," Yolei obliged.

Chiaki happily entered and began helping Yolei set the table. 

"Hey Michi, those jeans look a bit small. Didn't Miho have anything else?" he asked, more concerned with helping his mother.

"These are fine," Michi replied. She noticed a smile beginning to appear on Yolei's face.

"So were you helping Dad again today?" Yolei asked her son.

"No. He said the case was pretty much taken care of. There wasn't much else for me to do, so I just hung out with my friends."

Michi leaned against the counter and continued to observe Yolei chat, "So what was that case about?" 

"Um…" Chiaki looked over at Michi. As soon as their eyes met, he returned his to the table. "Can't say. Top secret stuff, you know?"

"Lovely," Yolei replied, with a slight tinge of sarcasm.

They finished setting the table, with Yolei asking Chiaki unimportant questions about his day. Chiaki gave vague and uninteresting answers, to which Yolei always replied "That's nice" in an attempt to sound encouraging. 

Michi said nothing. She didn't even care about her own social adventures, much less about Chiaki's. It was all just a way to waste time- idle hours between whatever she was obligated to do later. She once held the notion that these obligations were the reason for being- life was about keeping busy. Friends, relatives, and hobbies existed to provide more obligations to affirm her existence. But those too seemed insignificant now. Her current obligation was to bring herself to remedy the situation with Koji. At the moment, though, she saw no purpose in doing so. 

"You know, Michi, if you want, I can show you around." Upon hearing her name, Michi looked up at Chiaki, who was smiling at her. "I mean, you look like you could use some cheering up. You don't want to be stuck in here with Mom all day, do you?"

Michi wasn't sure how to answer. She wouldn't mind the distraction, but that was all it was- a temporary escape from her problems. She was sure to return to them at the end of the day.

Before she could respond, Chiaki's little brother ran into the room and took the liberty. "Why don't you make it more clear- you want to go out with her," he teased.

"Masayuki!" Chiaki snapped back, a little red.

But the twelve-year-old ignored him and bounced up to his mother. "I saw Dad coming. He'll be here any second."

"I'm home," Ken's subdued call affirmed Masayuki. 

Yolei left to greet her husband, leaving the three children alone in the kitchen. Chiaki continued to nervously look at Michi. 

"I... don't..." he began.

"Good, then I can sit next to her at dinner," Masayuki announced, and joined Michi at the other end of the table. He smiled broadly at Michi and showed her to her seat. Wordlessly, she sat, wincing a little as her pants constricted her further.

Ken and Yolei entered. Ken looked solemn, especially after he and Michi exchanged troubled glances. After a moment, he turned back to his wife.

"So is dinner almost ready?"

"As a matter of fact it is," Yolei replied, with pleased surprise, "You came home on time for once. What's the occasion?"

Ken began to sit down. "The, um..." He nervously looked at Michi. "The investigation is over for the time being. Things are taken care of."

"Did you get your guy?"

Another worried glance at Michi before he said, "Yeah. From what I can tell they got him."

Michi had noticed Ken's nervous looks, and faced Chiaki to see if he did as well. Apparently he had, because his eyes also darted towards her. 

"What do you mean?" he asked Ken, "I didn't know there was a guy."

Ken didn't respond verbally. Instead, he and Chiaki stared at each other, with one of the two occasionally nodding or tilting a head toward Michi. Chiaki remained quizzical throughout. 

Michi looked at Yolei and Masayuki, who were both watching Ken and Chiaki's game of motionless charades with immense fascination. 

Masayuki broke the long silence by shouting, "Careful Mom, Chiaki's going to steal second!" 

Yolei laughed so hard she almost dropped a bowl of rice. She placed it safely on the table before resuming her laughter. "What were you two doing?" she asked.

"Nothing," Ken replied, not amused by his wife's mirth.

Neither Yolei nor Masayuki pursued the issue further. The Ichijouji family, plus Michi, ate quietly for a while. Masayuki broke the silence by talking about his day- a very uninteresting day since he didn't leave the house. Yolei pretended to be interested; Ken, Chiaki, and Michi didn't bother. In fact, Michi could tell Ken wasn't listening. He finished his plate quietly, pausing sometimes to carefully survey Michi.

She turned her attention to Chiaki when he confronted Masayuki. "So basically, you didn't do anything today."

"Well what did you do?!" Masayuki replied, defensive.

"It's none of your business." Chiaki quickly stuffed his mouth with rice.

"You didn't do anything either, did you?" 

As Chiaki swallowed, his head rose, his eyes meeting Michi's. "Michi, you have a little brother, don't you?"

She was a little surprised at the question, but plainly answered, "Yes."

"Is he the most annoying thing in the world?"

Michi narrowed her eyes. Kori? Annoying? 

"I'm sorry..." Chiaki turned to Masayuki, "The second most annoying thing in the world," he clarified.

"No," was her simple reply. Kori was one of the few constants in her life. He and Tony were the only people she really confided in. Chiaki and Masayuki's relationship seemed to be nothing of the sort. It somehow seemed... normal. Everything in the house reeked with normality. No wonder she was uncomfortable here.

By now, Masayuki had also noticed Ken's silence. "Hey, Dad, something up?" he asked.

Ken sighed, then looked up at Michi. With some hesitance, he began, "Michi... um... about Koji..."

"I'm done," Michi told Yolei, excusing herself from the table. Not wanting to feel trapped any longer, and especially not willing to discuss Koji, she left the family.

Yolei stood, about to go after her. She took two steps before Ken stopped her.

"Yolei, we need to talk." 

He excused himself from the table and slowly ascended the stairs. Yolei followed, but not before glancing at Michi, lying motionless on the couch. She entered her bedroom, and closed the door behind her. Ken stood patiently next to his dresser.

"What's going on?" she asked up front.

"Chiaki and I have been investigating Michi and Koji," he admitted.

Surprised, she stepped closer. "Why? Is Yasuo suspicious or something?"

"Yeah. At first I thought he was just being neurotic. Trying to spy on everybody that does anything that could possibly be questionable."

"But you did it anyway?" she asked, a little angry. Yasuo had been the biggest enemy of the Chosen for decades, and the idea of Ken taking orders from him sickened Yolei.

"I figured it would be a good way to get him off our backs. I mean, I didn't think for a minute that those two would be up to something. Davis and Kensuke helped out a bit too. And I also got Chiaki involved."

Yolei paused, before nodding. "Okay, that makes sense. And I know they weren't up to something. Mimi e-mailed me and told me they'd be in town for spring break. She wouldn't have done that if they were trying to be secretive. So what did you learn?"

"Chiaki found out that they were planning to visit Takuya, Mima, Shinya, and Mari."

"Why?"

"I don't know. So I had Davis and Kensuke find out. Whatever their reasons, Davis told me it wasn't a problem. I asked Chiaki to try to keep tabs on them, but really I thought that was the end of it."

With a grim nod, Yolei replied, "Until they broke up... or whatever happened."

Ken sighed and sat down on the bed. He released another sigh, then said, "This is just a guess, but I think Michi found out who Koji really is."

Deeply curious, Yolei sat next to Ken, "Who is he?"

"I don't know. But Yasuo recognized his picture, got really upset, and the next thing I knew he picked Koji up for questioning."

Yolei's eyes jolted open. "Jeez. So what about Michi? Is she in trouble?"

"I don't think so. All Yasuo told me was that Koji was the real threat, and that I should just try to keep an eye on Michi for now. Which leads me to believe that Michi ran out after she found out Koji's secret, whatever that is. I don't think she was in on the plan."

It seemed to make sense. Although Yolei didn't see Michi as the type to be fooled easily, if she was betrayed by someone she cared for, it would be hard to swallow.

"So what was the plan?" Yolei asked.

"I don't know. And Yasuo's not going to tell me."

Yolei sighed, and placed a hand on her husband's shoulder. "I don't think it's a good idea to try to get it out of Michi, if that's what you were thinking. She's obviously going through a hard time, and you interrogating her won't make it easier."

"I understand. Maybe you could talk to her." He turned to his wife and straightened the glasses on her face.

"I'll try, but she hasn't been saying much." 

Ken stood, prompting Yolei to follow. They left the room, pausing for a moment on the landing. Both could see Michi below them, resting on the couch, an occasional deep sigh the only sign of life.

"This is her journey," Ken said, resting his arms on the banister. "Whatever she's going through, she has to find her own way to beat it. We all went through the same thing."

"At least we know she'll be safe. That's the important thing."

The two former Chosen continued to watch Michi, as she remained dormant. 

"You know Ken," Yolei whispered, "If Yasuo considers Koji such a threat..." she faced him, "Wouldn't that make Koji a good guy?"

"Possibly," Ken replied, just as quiet, "But I don't know whether to hope for that or not."

After another day of aggressive interrogation, Koji was punished further by his inability to sleep. Everything from the past two days flew uncontrollably in his mind. He cooperated as much as he could, but was only rewarded by being locked in some underused cell. There were no windows; his only light was a flickering florescent ceiling lamp. His only activity was lying on the dusty cot, the only furniture in the room, and counting the hours until he was no longer useful.

Koji didn't expect to be alive for long. He realized that he knew so little about the situation. The burning question of how he entered the Digital World was even more unusual than before. Instead of simply breaking through an impenetrable seal, he also unwittingly stepped out of his world altogether. Even Yasuo and Yamaki were stumped. 

However it happened, his mission to deliver the letters was an additional strike. Yamaki found the letter to Takuya, forcing Koji to admit everything. He was careful not to implicate Michi, saying he needed a way to contact the other children and essentially forced Michi into helping. He also said they were unable to deliver any of the letters in Japan, which he hoped would keep Mari safe. Whether or not they bought that story, it didn't help Koji. And as Yamaki calmly retrieved his lighter and burned TK's letter, Koji knew the mission was over.

He was beyond help. He was an artificial fabrication, a carefully specified product created to tame Digimon. As designed, he had filled his role with enthusiasm, and to great success. And in the end, he was separated from Guilmon and left to a pointless life. But breaking free and finding a new purpose meant losing that too.

Izzy had told him to exist. In the real real world, Koji had. He had spent two of the best years of his life existing. But because he lived where had no right to live, his life was going to end. 

For the longest time, Koji had believed that he was doing something right. Living in the Digital World, existing in New York, fulfilling his purpose in Odaiba. Now the truth was in front of him- his creators were finished with him, and his designated place was back in lonely Okinawa. He didn't regret leaving. He was angry that he never had the right to leave.

Eventually, Koji was able to fall asleep. He was able to dream. He was able to wake the next morning and feel his back complaining about the cot. He was able to fear the day and hope his fate would change. Although he was able to do all of it, he was not able to convince his captors that he could exist.  
  
**To Be Continued in "Stage Seven- Escape"**

**Author's Notes  
**As this is inspired by Lain, you knew this was going to get existential eventually. Koji and Michi's angst in this chapter work together to this effect. There's a few parallels and contrasts that are interesting to note.  
  
The explanation provided may or may not have been what you expected, but you knew it was going to be more complicated than "two parallel worlds," right? Some have offered theories linking the worlds of Adventure, Tamers, Frontier, the video games, and/or the recent Chronicle manga (which provides the namesake of Takuya's roommate). There is no actual connection (it's really just several different minds offering their own take on the Digital World), but I wanted to explore the possibilities using a very unbalanced connection between the Adventure and Tamers world. Here, one world is clearly superior to the other, which presents a whole lot of issues now and in the future. Naturally, there's still several holes to be filled (including a giant hole named Ryo), and those will be addressed later.   
  
Takuya's comments about his father were briefly hinted at in Level 1 and the TK situation gets an interesting twist near the end of this story. It becomes very important in Level 3.  
  
This ends Level 2: Stage 6 of The Connection.


	7. Escape

_**Level 2- Children**  
_  
_Tony Grant- Age 16  
Born to Michael and Mimi Grant on April 28, 2023  
Junior in high school  
Currently living in Staten Island, New York with parents Mimi and Michael, step-sister Michi, and step-brother Kori_  
  
**Stage Seven- Escape  
**  
_TO: ichijoujikenkeishicho.metro.tokyo.jp   
FROM: RKngelechelon.net  
  
They have Koji?  
  
_After staring at the e-mail for two straight minutes, Ken glanced around the office. He was alone, just as he had been all day. Yasuo and his other subordinates were busy with whatever they were doing to Koji. Ken, meanwhile, was left with the job of "trying to keep an eye on Michi." Since he needed no organizational resources to do that, his time was divided between his e-mail inbox and his game of solitaire.

This e-mail was both alluring and disturbing. Ken knew exactly who RKngel was, but did not understand her role in this situation. She obviously knew something about Koji. She obviously had heard something about his capture. She obviously didn't want to tell Ken too much. The message was clear- she knew something Ken didn't.

Something big was happening. Ken could sense that much. But he also sensed that he was being excluded from it. He had the routine job of tracking a pair of vacationers, but had no idea how important this particular pair was to Yasuo. Ken also didn't understand why he had no part in Koji's arrest or interrogation. He knew only that Koji was in Yasuo's custody.

That was all RKngel wanted to know. That was all Ken wrote in response- "Yes." Once again, he was providing information when others withheld it from him. Yasuo, RKngel, Koji and all the other players were embroiled in something big. Regardless of who was good or bad, neither side wanted Ken to learn too much.

And that taught Ken all he needed to know- this was about the digi-destined.

* * *

****

In the shadows of the nearby skyscrapers, Chiaki and Michi shared a bench, content with latently watching pedestrians canter by. Chiaki had already scored a minor victory in getting Michi out of the house. But a change in scenery did little to boost her spirits. She had agreed mainly to see if the trip had any greater importance, but was discouraged by Chiaki's justification: "just something to do."

Whatever they were doing, it wasn't much. Her association with Chiaki was insignificant and temporary. She found him secretive and a little tense. But she did notice one thing- his quiet satisfaction. They were sitting on the same bench, watching the same scenery, but while Michi felt empty, Chiaki appeared full of something.

"Why did you want to go out?" she asked.

"Just felt like it," he replied, more interested in a woman pushing a baby carriage on the other side of the street.

"Is that all?"

"Sure. Why not? We have to do something."

"Why?"

He turned to her, frowning. "Because if we don't do anything, then there's no reason to be here."

Michi's head fell forward. Her presence in the world had to have more purpose than "just something to do."

Chiaki continued, "Look, I can only guess what went on with you and Koji. But it's like you're a completely different person now. Before you were so… so…" Michi glanced at him, awaiting his answer. "…Not like this."

She faced the ground again and droned, "With Koji I felt like a completely different person. I felt like I had a purpose. It felt like I had been waiting for him to point me in the right direction."

"And now?"

"Dead end."

After pausing a moment, Chiaki asked, "Can't you just turn around? What were you like before Koji?"

"Nothing."

"Really? What did you want to do before?"

With a sigh, Michi lifted her head up and leaned back against the bench. Staring up at the nearby buildings, she answered, "I never really settled on anything. I just did whatever seemed fun at the time. I hadn't really thought about where I was going. I thought I found something with Koji, but he only made me realize how lost I was."

She looked over at Chiaki. To her surprise, he was smiling. He immediately turned away, trying to hide it.

"What?" she asked.

In a slightly condescending tone, he replied, "I just don't see why you're so miserable about this. So you don't know what you want to do with your life? So what?" He dropped his smile and continued, "I just don't see why you thought Koji was the big answer to everything."

Before she could explain anything, he blurted, "Because there's no way you should be moping because of someone like him. You can find somebody better than him." She noticed a light blush on his face. He held a hand up to hide it and added, "You shouldn't have any trouble with that."

"It wasn't just about that," Michi replied instantly, refusing to let herself get wrapped up in the topic, "He had a purpose. He had a reason for being here. Oh... I wanted that. To do something that ranks up there with what my parents did."

"I think that's why I want to be a detective. I heard so many great stories from Dad..."

She leaned forward, determined to meet him eye-to-eye. "I mean before all that. When they were... our age."

With a bigger smile, he shook his head. "Awfully hard to save the Digital World now, Michi. Our generation isn't cut out for that sort of thing."

"Still..." Michi faced the other way, "destiny chose them to do great things. But there's nothing left for us."

"And Koji changed things somehow?"

Michi turned back. Chiaki was looking at her, his eyes narrowed slightly and his smile a distant memory. "He had some holy mission to carry out, and that meant something to you?"

"Yeah."

Chiaki rose suddenly, standing with his back to her. Michi couldn't tell what he was staring at, but it had his full attention. She leaned forward, trying to get a glimpse, but she saw nothing unusual. But from her new angle, she noticed that Chiaki had his eyes closed. He took a deep breath before opening them... and his mouth.

"They caught him. Whatever he was doing, somebody upstairs didn't like it."

Fixated on Chiaki's words, Michi silently fell backwards into the bench. She blinked twice- once to question the reality of his statement, a second time to shield herself from it. At first she wanted to know how he obtained this information. Then she wanted to know the specifics of Koji's capture. But she asked about neither. Both were frivolous details, instinctive efforts to avoid the truth. And she knew it was the truth- she saw no reason for Chiaki to say it otherwise.

She said nothing, but merely closed her eyes and mentally tried to remove herself from the situation.

To no avail, for she still heard Chiaki as he said, "React however you want. But it's safe to say you won't see Koji ever again."

* * *

Sleep was the only activity Koji could enjoy. His waking world was one of two things. One was Yasuo's torturous inquisition, which gave Yasuo few answers and gave Koji only pain. Koji still answered as truthfully as he could, lying only to protect Michi and his other friends. But no matter the question, he did not have the answers Yasuo was looking for.

When he wasn't being interrogated, Koji could only roam his cell, waiting for Yasuo to come calling. He lost all sense of time. He did not know how many hours or days he had spent in captivity. There was no way of figuring out the time- he ate only when he was questioned, and that occurred irregularly.

Whatever time it was, Koji was asleep when the door opened. The resulting creak opened his eyes involuntarily. Two men entered the room. One was very familiar to Koji- the guard whose presence always signaled another session with Yasuo. The second, however, was a new face. But he wasn't a stranger to Koji. He was older, and the dim florescent light presented his face in a different, darker light. But without a doubt, the man entering Koji's cell was Ryo Akiyama.

"Thanks. I'll knock when I'm ready," Ryo told the guard, who nodded silently and walked out, locking the door behind him.

Koji sat up as Ryo looked around the room, scrutinizing the atmosphere. He put a hand against the steel wall.

"Ryo?" Koji asked, seemingly getting his attention for the first time.

Ryo looked back at Koji and replied, "Koji was it?"

Koji nodded slowly, disappointed that Ryo didn't seem to remember Takato.

"Not a bad name. In the TV show that was the quiet kid with all the problems at home." A little smug, he added, "I guess it works for you Takato."

Startled, Koji replied, "You remember me?"

"How could I forget?"

Koji sighed in relief. The solace in having Yamaki remember Takato was short-lived, but Ryo's good memory offered Koji new comfort.

Ryo continued to survey the room. "Hmm... there's no chair in here. Oh well."

"Why are you here?"

"I heard you were here," said Ryo, returning his attention to Koji. "Figured I'd drop by." He looked around again. "Wish they'd find someplace better for you. This room sucks."

"It's awful here," Koji complained, "They keep dragging me out of here and asking me questions. But no matter what I say I just don't have the answers they're looking for. That Yasuo guy is..."

"Say no more." Ryo smiled. "I know what he's like. Dad's not the kind of guy to be denied anything."

Koji's eyes bulged. "Dad?"

"I guess he's my dad. Technically he's my brother, but that doesn't seem right, does it?" Ryo laughed as Koji looked on, confused. "It's a long story. From what I've heard, I spent a lot of time in the Digital World back when it was around. Then one day a Knightmon chopped my head off."

"Ouch."

"Or something like that. I don't remember. But when you die in the Digital World, you get reborn. When I did, Yasuo adopted me and raised me like his son."

"I'm sorry."

Once again, Ryo laughed. "I survived." With a sigh, he added, "I kinda wish you could too."

It took Koji a moment to realize what Ryo meant, but his spirits fell as soon as he did. "So he is going to kill me?" he asked sadly.

Ryo nodded grimly. "Tomorrow. I heard him talking to Yamaki. They got pretty much everything they can from you. They'll try again tomorrow, and that's it."

Jumping to his feet, Koji began to approach Ryo. But two steps in, Ryo stepped back, momentarily concerned at Koji's advance. Koji stopped after seeing Ryo's uneasy face.

"Then you've got to help me. You've got to get me out of here," Koji pleaded, desperate for some sign that Ryo was indeed sympathetic.

"Who says?" Ryo eyed Koji nervously as he leaned against the back wall. "I just wanted to see how you were holding up. I have no intention of breaking you out of here."

"Ryo, you said it yourself- they're going to kill me," Koji said, slowly enough to keep his frustration from turning into anger.

Ryo shrugged. "Sorry. There's nothing I can do."

Koji slumped back onto his cot as Ryo explained, "Yasuo's an ass. You don't have to tell me that. But I have to look past that. Because he's right- you don't belong here."

"Then can't they just send me home?"

"If they do that, what's stopping you from finding your way back?"

Koji could no longer stand looking at Ryo. If he was supposed to die, then he had hoped for a little comfort from the "Legendary Tamer," not the logic behind his upcoming deletion. "Am I really that dangerous?"

"Maybe not, but imagine what would have happened if Henry got through. Did they tell you about that?" Koji nodded. "Two Henrys in this world? Don't tell me that isn't a problem. Although frankly I like yours better. Terriermon did a lot for that kid."

"Just shut up!" Koji yelled, startling Ryo out of his digression. Koji bent down, clutching his head. If Ryo wasn't going to help, he was better off leaving.

But instead, Koji heard Ryo's footsteps draw closer, until he saw a pair of feet two yards in front of him.

"Everybody is assigned a world, whether real, artificial, or digital. And that world is where they belong. If they go into the wrong world, they will not be able to survive there. No matter how long they last, they will eventually be wiped out. That's how it was with me, and that's how it will be with you."

Koji lifted his head. As expected, Ryo was staring back with a stern, unforgiving look on his face.

"If you had just stayed in your world, none of this would have happened." Ryo turned around, shaking his head as he walked to the far corner of the room. "But now, I hate to say it, but they'll probably wipe out your world as well."

"What?" As if Koji needed more to worry about.

Koji sensed a little sadness in Ryo's voice, but not much: "After we beat D-Reaper, Yasuo agreed to leave your world alone as long as it wasn't disrupting anything. Your presence might be the disruption Yasuo needs to erase everything."

As Koji's eyes began to well with tears, he tried not to imagine the potential destruction of his home world. Another coming of D-Reaper, devouring everything he had worked so hard to save. But he couldn't help it- the visions came regardless. He saw the red chaos infecting everything, with nothing to stand in its way. Somewhere in the midst of it all, Koji saw Jeri, Rika, and Henry, his Henry, broken into nothingness without the slightest idea that their dear departed friend Takato brought this fate on them.

His hands landed on his knees as his head fell, his tears beginning to drip on his lap. "I just wanted to be with Guilmon..."

"God, they didn't tell you that either..." Ryo muttered.

Koji looked up as Ryo's head fell against the wall, cushioned by his right arm. "What?"

"We just barely saved your real world from D-Reaper." Ryo shook his head, swallowed, and delivered the bad news. "Your Digital World wasn't so lucky. Yasuo wasn't going to let that survive."

"No..." Even after all that had he'd been through, Koji still wanted to think his Digital World existed somewhere. That he somehow accidentally was misdirected into the other one. It couldn't possibly be gone. That meant...

"Guilmon..."

Ryo approached Koji slowly. "Yamaki told you that you wouldn't see your partners again. That was why. I know it's awful, Takato. I lost Cyberdramon."

"It can't be..."

"There's no reason to deny it any longer. You only have one more day, why live it through a lie?"

"But it can't be true!" Koji's head jolted upwards, startling Ryo. "Guilmon is still alive somewhere! If he was erased years ago, then I would have been too."

"Face it Takato!" Ryo's grimace turned into a full frown as he shouted, "Guilmon is dead!"

In a flash of primal instinct, Koji lunged at Ryo, driving shoulder into stomach. Koji refused to let Ryo say such a lie. He continued to charge forward, driving the defenseless Ryo further back, until they collided with the far wall. Ryo's head snapped back into the steel as Koji stood overhead.

"No. He isn't. He can't be," spat Koji.

As the other boy's body slumped down, Koji saw blood trailing from where Ryo's head had hit the wall. But Koji didn't care. He was through caring. He was not going to die until he saw Guilmon again. And if that was truly impossible, he was certainly not going to die at the hands of Guilmon's killer.

He left Ryo and pounded on the door. Koji readied himself for the moment the unassuming guard opened the door to let "Ryo" out.

"Takato..." Ryo moaned. Koji saw that Ryo's eyes were barely open, but through the pain the old Tamer managed two words before slipping into unconsciousness:

"Good luck."

Scarcely a moment after the door creaked, Koji yanked it open wide, jolting the guard for a fraction of a second as Koji charged at him. The guard was only forced back a couple of feet but it was enough for Koji to make it to the hallway. Without looking back, he sprinted for the nearest stairwell. Because of the many trips to the questioning room, he knew where the stairs were, and that he was on one of the higher levels of the building. He found the stairs and rapidly descended.

The first three floors were a mad dash, as Koji was too busy running to ponder the details of his escape. But his body, working on very little food, soon refused to fly downstairs. Koji looked up; nobody was chasing him from above. He cautiously slowed his pace as he reached the next floor and peered through the window on the door. With nobody in sight, he slowly entered the hallway.

He knew he was not physically capable of running down dozens of flights of stairs. Therefore, the elevator was the only option. Cautiously, he pressed the down button and waited.

As Koji tried to catch his breath, he considered the possible scenarios, and how he was going to respond to them. He knew he couldn't afford to act wildly. One wrong move and he would be dead.

None of the scenarios involving a hallway confrontation came to fruition, as the bell by the far right elevator brought Koji over. He was not reassured, however; he still had to deal with whatever was behind the sliding doors. He prepared to run, but prayed for a false alarm. The doors opened.

"There he is!"

The sight of three guards armed with police batons made Koji's heart sink. But thankfully, he was ready for it; he dashed away before they could get close to him.

Not wanting to chance a game of hide-and-seek on the floor, he raced back to the stairwell and once again fled downstairs. This time, he heard the guards yelling, their boots clanking down the stairs behind him. He made it down another two floors on adrenaline alone, but two floors after that he could feel himself letting up. He was moving faster than the guards, but he was tiring- they weren't. Koji stopped at the next floor, not bothering to verify its safety.

He carefully and quietly closed the door behind him, in case his hunters didn't see him go through it. When he turned toward the elevator, again hoping to test his luck, he realized that he wasn't alone. A woman was anxiously waiting for an elevator; her head cheated toward her watch and she bit her lower lip. Apparently, she hadn't noticed Koji through her sunglasses.

Was she dangerous, or an innocent bystander? If the former, Koji knew he had to turn tail, somehow evading the guards on the stairs. But if she was a normal woman that just happened to be there, he could calmly wait with her. Her presence could also potentially keep the guards from becoming violent.

All this logic did little to help, however. He had frozen in indecisiveness.

She casually glanced at him, giving Koji a good look at her face. Even with the sunglasses, she was familiar, and Koji recognized her brown hair- neatly cut in front but hanging freely behind her shoulders. He sensed her scanning him through the sunglasses, and her mouth began to open.

"Takato?"

That was enough for Koji; he turned and ran... almost colliding with the guards entering the hallway.

Koji stopped and began to backpedal, but the trio closed in, hoisting their weapons. With nowhere to run, he braced for the impending strike.

One came, but instead of a swift blow to the head, the woman grabbed his shoulders and pulled him away from the guards.

"Leave him alone!" she shouted. In a swift motion, her right hand left Koji's shoulder, balled into a fist, and belted one of the guards in the face. As the other two advanced on her, Koji heard the elevator bell.

"The elevator!" he yelled.

She quickly backed away, turned around, and ran to it, grabbing Koji's upper arm on the way. With all three guards pursuing them, the pair reached the elevator as the doors opened. Two more sentries were waiting.

"Shit!" Koji exclaimed, but the woman wasted no time, violently forcing Koji away. The guards from the elevator armed themselves and charged towards them, just in time to collide with the trio already in the hallway. The entire mass fell to the floor.

Koji and the woman wasted no time in slipping past the five and jumping into the now unoccupied elevator. Koji dived for the button to close the door, but one of the guards was back on his feet, and physically kept the door open. The woman struggled to force him out, trying to prevent him from using his weapon.

Koji tried to assist her, attacking the guard's midsection, but he refused to budge, still grappling with Koji's would-be rescuer. Koji struck the man's arm, the one holding the baton, knocking it away long enough for the woman to reach into her purse. She quickly retrieved a can of pepper spray and opened fire. The blast forced the guard back out into the hallway. Koji again pressed the button, and the armed woman refused to allow anyone else on board. The doors closed; the elevator descended.

As Koji took a much-needed breather, he was surprised when she punched the button for floor 25.

"Why aren't we going to the bottom?" he asked.

Equally breathless, she replied, "They know we're in here. They'll stop this thing as soon as they can. We need to get out before that. Once we get to floor 25, we can run to the other tower. If we make it to an elevator on that side, we're home free."

"You really thought this through," Koji replied, fairly impressed.

She looked down at him, taking off her sunglasses. Her eyes made her look even more familiar to Koji. "I don't know what they told you Takato, but you have done nothing wrong. They have no reason to destroy you and they won't as long as I have anything to say about it. I came as soon as I found out you were here."

At first, all he could say in response was, "Thanks." But after a moment, he added, "You know, I think I remember you. You helped us when we fought D-Reaper."

"Yeah," she replied quickly, replacing her sunglasses.

"Yeah, I'm trying to remember your name. It's um... uh... Riley!"

She nodded. He smiled, happy he was able to recall it. "Yeah, Riley... um... oh shoot." Unfortunately, the last name still escaped him.

"Kamiya."

At that moment, the doors opened- almost as wide as Koji's mouth. But Riley paid little attention to the surprised look on his face.

"Let's go."

The two sprinted down the extended hall of government offices, ignoring anybody in their path. Neither noticed any of Yasuo's guards but given their speed, they could easily have passed one without registering him.

Riley and Koji safely made it to the other side. An identical row of elevators greeted them and a down arrow waited for Riley's touch. Koji collapsed on a nearby chair. He had recovered enough to make the long run, but only by tapping into his emergency energy. He bent over, ready to faint. He silently hoped Riley was right- that this elevator would deliver them the rest of the way and he would be out of this place.

He would have fallen out of the chair if Riley hadn't caught him. She sat next to him, guiding him upright.

"We're almost there," she whispered, still holding him. Riley softly rubbed his head, and continued to do so until the elevator arrived. Then she helped him out of the chair and through the doors to freedom.

Several others were also riding down, but they only served to crowd, not capture. As a result, the two were boxed into a corner. Riley kept her hands on his shoulders, and Koji's head fell back until it rested on her chest. Despite her proximity, he was perfectly at ease. It was the first time he felt protected since he arrived in this world. And yet, the feeling was not new. He had felt this same presence before. As if Riley had been silently watching over him the whole time.

Once on the ground floor. Riley led Koji to the lobby and urgently looked around.

"Where is she?" she muttered.

"Riley!!"

The two turned to the woman yelling. She was a little younger than Riley, with short red hair. She was waving her arms to signal the pair.

"Tally!" Riley ran up to her, doing her best to help Koji along. Tally's face lit up when she saw Koji.

"You found him. Thank God."

"Yeah, now let's get out of here. Where are you parked?"

Instead of answering, Tally ran to the exit, slowing her pace to let Riley and Koji keep up. They made it outside, and Koji looked back over his shoulder and up. He already knew he would see the twin towers of the Metropolitan Government Building. He looked downward at the building's entrance. Yamaki was chasing after them. Koji faced forward again, unwilling to let the man catch up.

"Riley!" Yamaki yelled.

Koji and Tally ignored him. Riley stopped and turned around. This halted Tally and Koji, as both went back for her.

"We don't have time, we have to get going!" Tally barked. Riley didn't respond. "Riley!"

"Take Koji to the car. I'll be right behind you," Riley said calmly.

"Make it fast, okay?"

* * *

Tally followed her elder's instructions and led Koji away. Yamaki didn't follow them, focusing instead on the remaining woman.

"Riley, there's no point to this. It's over."

Riley slowly removed her sunglasses. "Why are you doing this? How can you side with him after all he's put us through?"

"Because he's right." Yamaki shook his head. "He always was right. And there's nothing you can do to change my mind this time."

"No. He's wrong. Yasuo's just afraid, that's all. Afraid that Takato's world is better than this one."

Behind her, she heard a car honking, and Tally shouting at her.

"Better or worse doesn't matter, Riley. Takato's world isn't real. And if something from his world can become real then it's dangerous."

Rather than respond, Riley simply put on her sunglasses and turned around. If he was right about anything, it was that she wasn't going to change his mind. He was aligning with the enemy, and her only move was to let it go.

But as she walked toward Tally's car, she heard Yamaki announce, "Riley, we are re-introducing D-Reaper into the MAXIS. And there's no way to stop it this time."

Riley stopped. She wanted to turn around. She wanted to attack him, hurt him... perhaps even kill him. He was a traitor, and if it weren't for Tally physically forcing her to the car, it would have been an option.

Instead, she fell back into the passenger seat as Tally sped away. Nobody was chasing them anymore.

From the backseat, Koji asked, "What's wrong?"

She sat up for a moment and looked at Koji. "Nothing," she muttered, lying back again. Just tired, that's all."

Koji turned to Tally. "What was your name again?"

"Tally," she replied, more focused on watching the road.

"Tally...?" Koji asked eagerly.

"Onodera," Tally remained unconcerned.

"Come on Tally, he needs to know the truth. I already told him," Riley said, a little condescendingly.

"Tally Onodera. I officially changed it back, remember?"

Riley gave up, and faced the window. Koji continued to watch Tally as she shook her head. Finally, she gave in: "Takaishi. Tally Takaishi. Are you happy?"

Satisfied, and not wanting to dwell on the obvious significance of their surnames, Koji moved on. "So where are we going?"

"Tachikawa. I'm borrowing a friend's house while she's overseas."

"Is it safe?"

"If it isn't, I'd be dead by now. Don't worry Takato. You're going to be just fine."

Koji leaned back in his seat. He soon realized that he had the whole back row to himself, so he stretched out and rested. Somehow, Tally's words of reassurance did little to appease him. His heart was no longer pounding and his legs had checked out for the day, leaving Koji with only his thoughts.

_"Face it Takato! Guilmon is dead!"_

Ryo's words still stung. Koji was afraid to ask Riley or Tally, for fear they would confirm it. He wanted to keep pretending it wasn't true. He could live with being a computer simulation. He could deal with being separated from Mari and Michi, as long as he knew they were safe. But if Guilmon was indeed erased, wiped off the map completely, never to return- then Koji had no reason to keep running.  
  
**To Be Continued in "Stage Eight- Truth"**

**Author's Notes**  
I'm not going to insult your intelligence. Most of the information in this stage requires a simple game of connect the dots to answer your questions.  
  
While echelon.net was just made up, Ken's server is the actual domain for the Tokyo Police.  
  
Since Ryo tends to be characterized as 1) a pompous asshole, 2) an irresponsible adventurer, or 3) Rika's Tamer, try not to dismiss him as option number one in this stage. It's hardly a flattering portrayal, but there is something to be said about his attitude which goes beyond a type.  
  
Everybody say it together- Riley and Tally rule. And yes, Yamaki and Riley were a canon couple in Tamers, although it's safe to say they broke up.  
  
Tachikawa is the name of a real town northwest of Tokyo, and I figured it had the appropriate connotations to work as the getaway spot.  
  
This ends Level 2: Stage 7 of The Connection.


	8. Truth

_**

* * *

Level 2- Children  
**_  
_Takuya Onodera- Age 21  
Born to TK and Tally Takaishi on July 10, 2018  
Senior in college  
Currently living in a Tokyo university residence hall with roommate Kouta  
  
_**Stage Eight- Truth**  
  
_----2028 to 2029----  
On December 31, 2028, the Digital World was completely severed from the real world, fulfilling a resolution narrowly passed by the United Nations earlier in the year. During the Sealing, all of the Digimon living in the real world were sent back to the Digital World permanently. Most of the world's population surrendered their digivices to authorities, since they no longer served a function. While authorities were not able to retrieve every digivice, it usually did not matter- the Digimon Activity Advisory Board had severely restricted access to the Digital World since 2007. Only the "Chosen" (original digi-destined selected prior to 2004), and "Gatekeepers" (researchers and regulators with government clearance), could use their digivices to enter the Digital World. Those two groups were therefore forced to hand over their digivices. _

_Seven Chosen from Japan and the United States- Kari Fisher, Cody Hida, Matt and Sora Ishida, Izzy Izumi, Joe Kido and TK Takaishi defied authorities by refusing to submit their digivices. On December 31, the seven were sent to New York City, where they were forced into the Digital World moments before it was cut off from the real world. They were never heard from again._

_In 2029, a group of former Digital World researchers met in Palo Alto, California to research ways to safely reintroduce Digimon into the real world. Led by Dr. Rob McCoy, the group represented the top minds in the field, including Janyuu Wong and Goro Mizuno, co-workers of the departed Izzy Izumi. In order to test out their vast array of proposals, they received a university grant to bring their ideas to life. Using the MAXIS, a virtual simulation program normally reserved for medical research (developed after the Age-Reduction Surgery fallout in the mid-2010s), the group created their own world, and subsequently their own Digital World. It is considered the most ambitious use of the MAXIS to date._

_Since the entire virtual Digital World had to be created with manmade parameters, the researchers were forced to use their own theories, both proven and unproven. They started small, with a basic plain using the early ABC and ENIAC computers as foundations. The Digital World was programmed to evolve and grow. As it slowly did so, the researchers turned to matters of their "real" world. _

_Fully intending to start over, they designed the real world to simulate life at the beginning of the Digimon Age. Although the Digital World had not evolved to a point where it could interact with the real world, the researchers planned for this eventuality. Dr. Goro Mizuno took command of this aspect of the project. He envisioned a return to the days of morally upright children selected to become partners with a Digimon. These children, called "Tamers," would be responsible for ensuring the safety of the Digimon, and the safety of the Digimon's environment. _

_Dr. Mizuno eventually wanted to make all of his world's randomly generated children candidates to become Tamers. First, however, he created his prototype child, establishing characteristics he believed would make the perfect Tamer. Since the Digital World was not yet ready, Dr. Mizuno deposited this child to grow naturally in the MAXIS. This child was named Takato Matsuki, after a character in one of Dr. Mizuno's favorite novels. As a result, the plan for integrating the two worlds through human Tamers was dubbed "The Matsuki Project."  
--------_

The drive to Tachikawa felt very short to Koji, despite not sleeping in the back seat. It wasn't long before Tally pulled into a garage, shut off the ignition, and nudged Riley awake.

"Here already?" Koji asked.

"Yep. And this is a secure location, so they won't find us unless we get careless," Tally replied.

"Then let's go inside," Riley muttered, opening her door.

Tally and Koji stepped out of the car, Tally staring at Riley's drained face. "Seriously, Riley, are you all right?"

"No. Can we go inside first?"

Tally made no effort to inquire further. She unlocked the front door and let Riley and Koji into the building. It was a small house, but had plenty of room for the three. Beyond the ample kitchen they had entered into, Koji also saw a living room, with doors leading to two bedrooms, a bathroom, and an extra room set up as an office. As Koji explored the layout, Riley lay down on the couch.

"Nice place. So you live here?" Koji asked.

Tally nodded. "For a couple months every year. One of my friends spends a lot of time in America, so I housesit while she's away. Better than my apartment in Odaiba, that's for sure."

Koji peeked into the office. Tally had obviously brought in a few computers; Koji saw them lined up along the back wall, with only a few connected to monitors. All were turned on.

"Since she's not on Yasuo's black list, this is also where I do my hacking and stuff." Tally added, "Which reminds me that I need to make a phone call."

As Tally picked up a phone in the room, Koji left to give her some privacy. He approached Riley, who had turned on the television and was watching the news.

"I hope I'm not causing too much trouble for you. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't shown up," Koji said, sitting down on a nearby chair.

"Well, besides the red-eye from New York this morning, coordinating everything with Tally, and getting you out of there... today was a pain and a half," Riley replied. She looked up at Koji and added, "But for you, it's worth it."

"You don't know what it means to hear that. Lately, it seems all I've been hearing is that I don't belong in this world, and that I don't have the right to be here."

"You don't," said Riley, sitting up to talk to Koji properly, "We've been trying to fix that. We wanted you to have a chance. It's been that way for two years."

"You mean..." Koji stopped. He didn't want to bother guessing. In the two years he had spent in this world, he had never thought of somebody watching him from above and pushing him along. Was everything in his real-world life just as pre-ordained as his virtual-world life?

"If you had arrived in Shinjuku like Izzy had programmed, Yasuo would have spotted you and you would have been taken in the day you got here. So I hacked in and sent you to New York instead. Meeting Dwayne wasn't a stroke of good luck. He was there to help support you, and make sure you didn't do anything that would get Yasuo's attention."

Koji leaned forward and stared at the floor. "And then I ruined it all with those damn letters."

"It's not your fault. You didn't know. I'm sure Matt and the others asked you to do it. Which is understandable." Despite her sympathetic words, Riley said them so quietly and in such a monotone that Koji wondered if she was being sincere.

She laid down again, murmuring, "I guess this was all bound to happen eventually. Are you tired?"

"Not really," Koji replied. He had slept plenty in captivity, and had been able to relax a little in the car. His body was still drained from the day's exertion, but he was wide awake. "Just hungry, that's all."

"We'll have Tally get some takeout."

Tally emerged from the office, still on the phone: "That's fine. I'd just feel a lot better if you got out of there in case they come looking for you." She listened for a moment, looking worriedly at Riley and Koji, then smiled briefly. "Okay. Yeah, just in case. Thanks a lot."

She turned the phone off and said, "Takuya's going to be staying with his girlfriend." She shook her head and added, "They grow up so fast."

Riley sighed. "Yeah..." she mumbled, rolling over.

"Oh. Sorry."

"Was that your son?" Koji asked.

"Yeah. He called me yesterday and told me you might be in trouble. Said Mari Izumi stopped by to see if you visited him."

Koji smiled at that. It was a huge relief to hear that Mari was not only safe, but that she was also trying to find him. Now he only hoped he could find a way to contact her.

As Tally went into the kitchen, Koji stood and followed her. "Say, is there any chance we can get a hold of Mari and tell her I'm okay?" he asked.

Tally sighed. After looking around for awhile, she finally answered, "Um... let's hold on that for now. It's been a long day. I just want to relax for the night. Looks like Riley feels the same way."

"Oh. Okay," Koji tried not to sound disappointed. "Sounds like you two really went through a lot to help me."

Tally smiled weakly. "Nah, it's just that all this action is rough on us. ARS does that to you, you know?"

"ARS?" Koji was surprised to hear it come up again. Mimi getting it was one thing, but these two?

"Makes you look 15 years younger... and kills you 15 years faster," she replied sullenly, "All for the chance to be a part of the project. I guess it was worth it."

_----2030-2031----  
As life without Digimon continued, the multitude of Digimon supporters kept the memory alive on Earth. Without the negative publicity of uncontrollable attacks and other Digimon-related crimes, the Digital World received an outpouring of goodwill in the media. No longer a permanent fixture in life, Digimon saw new life as a trendy pop-culture element. Although the real thing was gone, Digimon-related games, stuffed animals, and books dominated their respective markets. Of course, Digimon opponents were quick to remind people why the Digital World was sealed off in the first place. As a result, there was very little serious advocacy towards unsealing it. _

_During this wave of popularity, TK Takaishi's books about the Digital World enjoyed a second visit on best-seller lists, most notably the Chronicles of the Odaiba Chosen series- a historical account of his adventures at the turn of the century. Television producers attempted to coax his widow, Tally Onodera, into selling Chronicles' TV rights. However, fed up with the constant stream of offers, Tally sold the rights to friend and Odaiba Chosen Davis Motomiya, hoping a television series would be more legitimate if one of its main characters had a say in its production._

_As executive producer, Davis eagerly began work on an animated adaptation of Chronicles. Naturally, the series involved the seven defiant Chosen that disappeared in 2028. Unwilling to see the seven go from traitors of mankind to cartoon heroes, the Japanese government, particularly U.N. Ambassador Yasuo Akiyama, pressured networks not to air the series. Without the promise of being broadcast, the project was scrapped. Instead, a separate company managed to buy the rights to TK's fictional novel Digital Frontier. In April of 2031, the anime Digimon Frontier premiered in Japan._

_In America, the Matsuki Project did not last long. After hearing about it, Yasuo convinced the U.S. government to cut funding for the research. Ordered to scrap the project, Dr. McCoy and the others did so through D-Reaper, a sophisticated data-deletion program originally pioneered by Izzy Izumi. However, although D-Reaper did destroy several of the Digimon that had arisen in the MAXIS, the Digital World had not evolved to a point where D-Reaper could recognize it as excess marked for destruction (a limitation of the initial program). Without enough evolved data to eliminate, D-Reaper became dormant, slowly absorbing the energy of what it had destroyed. _

_This went unnoticed by the researchers for almost a year. It wasn't until 2031, when Dr. Mizuno happened to peer into the world inside the MAXIS, that he noticed that his world was still growing. With no sign of D-Reaper on the surface of the Digital World, Dr. Mizuno wrote an algorithm to boost the rate of evolution in the Digital World. The parallel real world also remained in perfect health, showing no evidence that D-Reaper ever reached it.   
--------_

As Koji answered his aching appetite with a few helpings of okonomiyaki, Tally and Riley answered as much as they could about the creation of his world, and the need to defend it from D-Reaper. They also thoroughly justified the need for the elaborate series of lies about the origins of the Digital World and the "Monster Makers." There was the need to explain why a group of forty-year-olds were taking an interest in Digimon. They also needed to rationalize the reason for D-Reaper's emergence. The truth simply would not do.

"How would you have felt then if you knew your entire existence was merely an elaborate science experiment, and D-Reaper was the response to a disappointing result?" Riley asked.

They reassured Koji that at least some of it was genuine. The existence of Digimon Tamers, with the exception of Ryo, was an unexpected twist that nobody could explain. The behavior of the Digimon Sovereign was not predicted, particularly that of Zhuqiaomon. And of course, the bond between the Tamers and their Digimon was stronger than any of the researchers could have imagined, and was ultimately the difference between success and annihilation.

Although Koji was happy to hear the story from the perspective of the good guys, it wasn't very comforting. It just confirmed the awful truths about his home and his reason for being. Furthermore, it showed that Yasuo and Ryo had been right for the most part. What reason was there to believe that Ryo had lied about the Digital World's destruction?

Before Riley or Tally could get to that point, however, they heard a knock at the front door. The three raised their heads simultaneously and turned to the foyer, all at once nervous. The knocking continued.

"Do we know who that is?" Riley asked.

"We can't be sure," Tally replied.

Riley turned to Koji. "Quick, hide in the bedroom," she commanded as Tally stood.

Koji did so and closed the door behind him, putting an ear to it.

He heard an unfamiliar woman's voice ask, "Did you find him?"

"Oh, it's you. Scared us for a second," Tally replied, sounding relieved, "Yes. You didn't bump into him a few days ago, did you?"

"I don't bump. I encounter nobody unless I intend to." After a pause, the woman added, "Where is he?"

Koji cautiously slid the door open and re-entered the living room. The stranger was only slightly older than he was, staring back with narrowed eyes- one blue, one brown. Contrasting her stark black dress and shoes was her fiery orange hair, cut very short. Before he could gather up the nerve to say anything, she was approaching him.

"Remarkable," she whispered as she placed her hands on his cheeks. Dumbfounded, he stared back silently as she felt around his head, pulling down his eyelids and opening his mouth. All the while she did not flinch. Her eyes widened and her mouth remained slightly agape.

"This answers the question of which Mari you met," Tally remarked. Unable to move his head, Koji's eyes darted to his right, where he could make out Tally smiling.

Koji's reverted his gaze back to the mysterious woman. She had let go of his face, but remained in close proximity.

"You met... Mari?" she asked, slowly and deliberately.

Something about the way she said "Mari" struck Koji as odd. He made the connection himself and stepped back. "You... you sent that e-mail," he accused, "You're Alice!"

Her eyes narrowed. "I no longer have a name," she replied.

Koji took a step forward. "You know that e-mail made her really upset. What's your problem with her?"

"It would be unwise for her to get too comfortable in my life."

"Come on, Alice, you weren't using it anymore," Tally said as approached the two. She turned to Koji. "Takato, did you get to know this Mari at all?"

"Yeah, we um..." Koji stopped for a moment, then snickered quietly as he started to blush. Not wanting to give too many details, he said, "We uh, got to know each other real well."

Riley and Tally both smiled knowingly. "Maybe picking Dwayne wasn't such a good idea," Riley said.

As Riley chuckled, Koji couldn't help but join in. Not amused, Alice sneered and asked, "So who was this girl?"

Koji tried to compose himself. He knew it wasn't a laughing matter. Alice's question was certainly sobering. He still wanted to believe the Mari he knew was the real one. If she was not, then he had no idea who she was.

"She was Mari Izumi," he finally answered, "Who are you?"

Alice scowled. "I am no longer anybody. But just because I was not using my identity does not give her the right to steal it."

Koji was beginning to get angry. He knew he had to stand up for Mari. No way would she ever intentionally deceive somebody. And rather than trying to sort things out, Alice seemed content remaining vague in her accusation.

"Look, I don't know what's wrong with you, but leave Mari alone. Do you have any idea what she went through? She's the only one who got out of the Digital World besides me," he said.

"She was in the Digital World?" Alice asked, backing away slightly. Finally she shook her head. "Impossible."

"Don't ever say that!" Koji yelled, "I'm getting really sick of people calling the truth impossible!"

Before their arguing escalated, Tally stepped in with a hand on Alice's shoulder. "Uh, Alice, I'm assuming you're staying here tonight. Let's put your things in my room," she said, trying to sound as pleasant as possible.

Alice silently assented. As they went to get Alice's bag from the foyer, Koji angrily turned to Riley. "So who the hell is she?"

Without a word, Riley led Koji into the second bedroom. With the door shut, she quietly asked, "Did you hear what happened to Jim Kido?"

Caught off guard by a seemingly unrelated subject, Koji barely managed a "yes."

"Well, after that, you can imagine that the relatives of the Japanese Chosen were hesitant about doing anything remotely suspect."

"Okay..." Koji understood, but still didn't see the relation.

"When we got involved with the project, we didn't want to let on that we had any connection to the Chosen. If Yasuo found out we were involved, it could have endangered everybody."

"Is that what the ARS was for?"

Riley nodded. "I guess Tally told you already. Not only did it change our appearance, the Hypnos program wasn't going to pass up on a pair of young, qualified computer girls like Tally and I."

Koji cracked a slight grin, matching the one that had crept on Riley's face. His smile diminished just as quickly as he continued, "So what about Alice?"

"Mari?" As soon as she said it, Koji frowned. "Mari went to even greater lengths. She wanted to keep any semblance of the Izumi family out of trouble, so she passed herself off as Dolphin's granddaughter." With a shake of her head, Riley added, "It's purely cosmetic though. The real Alice acts nothing like that. Then again, Mari was never quite the same since her father left."

'She's completely nuts,' Koji thought. Unfortunately, she was also the original Mari Izumi. All of his efforts to reassure and comfort Mari had been for the wrong one. The puzzler was how the false Mari ended up in this scenario.

"I wouldn't think about it for too long Takato. It gives me a headache too," Riley said, "If you ask me, she had it coming. After it was all over, she decided not to go back home and I guess she's just been doing her own thing for the last few years. She wasn't really Alice, and she didn't want to be Mari."

"So she became nobody..." Koji answered.

"And frankly, we have bigger things to worry about than this other Mari."

Somewhat satisfied, Koji slid open the door as Tally and Alice exited the other bedroom. Suddenly, he thought of one more question, and turned back to Riley: "What exactly did she do for the team anyway?"

"Simple," Alice answered. Koji faced her as her mouth curled into a grin. "I merely invented bio-merging. I believe that establishes my significance to the project, wouldn't you say, Takato?"

As he stared at her, dumbfounded, she added, "Or is it Koji?"

_----2032-2033----  
As the Digital World within the MAXIS grew larger and stronger, Dr. Mizuno contacted the other researchers and told them about the exciting developments. Eager to restart the project, and hoping to avoid the bureaucracy of government funding, Dr. McCoy received financial support through a private donor- Davis Motomiya. With this, they were able to enhance their Digital World to include versions of the Digimon Sovereign. Hoping to restrict the rampant level of digivolution, they also contained Dr. Mizuno's prior algorithm into a single entity- the Shining Digivolution, guarded by the Sovereign on the Digital World's highest plain._

_In lieu of the temporarily scrapped Matsuki Project, put on hold due to its complexity, the researchers introduced the concept of Digimon to their human world through various media. The Digimon card game, which had arisen a couple years earlier, was duplicated in the MAXIS. Plans to air Digimon Frontier were also discussed, but an informal suggestion by Davis convinced the group to go a step further- they arranged for the MAXIS to produce the ill-fated Chronicles of the Odaiba Chosen series. With no government interference, the residents of the MAXIS were able to view the origins of human/Digimon interaction, even if portrayed as fiction. Finally, the researchers also created Digimon computer games- an important element of the research since the game actually operated within the Digital World. This marked the first true interaction between the two MAXIS worlds. _

_A project of this magnitude was bound to catch the government's attention eventually. It did early in 2033 when Yasuo Akiyama heard about it through various sources and quickly called for the government to step in. Since it was now privately funded, he was unable to stop the project entirely. He did, however, demand that the government become involved. Hoping to avoid a confrontation, the researchers agreed to negotiate. _

_The result of this negotiation was Hypnos, a government organization that would theoretically monitor the Digital World's activity, and prevent any undue influence on the real world. Although most of the researchers agreed to implement Hypnos in the MAXIS, Dr. Mizuno angrily opposed it, still clinging to the Matsuki Project and his belief that children could control Digimon better than an organization. He was voted down, and later walked out on the project in disgust._

_A neutral third party was contacted to develop the Hypnos program. One of its main developers, Mitsuo Yamaki, was appointed as its head. As plans were made to install Hypnos, the researchers recognized that it would have incredible power over the project. Hoping to maintain some control, they enlisted the help of Riley Kamiya and Tally Onodera, wives of two of the Odaiba Chosen and both highly skilled programmers. Using Age-Reduction Surgery and their maiden names to avoid being connected to the Chosen, Riley and Tally were hired as engineers. _

_As Hypnos went online, Yamaki, Riley and Tally entered the MAXIS using a new development that allowed physical entry in the virtual world. A fourth entry was Janyuu Wong, who agreed to go in on behalf of the researchers, despite the inevitable separation from his family. In order to ameliorate this, he programmed virtual clones of his wife and four children into the MAXIS. Yasuo Akiyama volunteered to monitor the behavior of the MAXIS from the outside.  
--------_

Ken normally didn't go up a floor while he was at work. The floor above his branch's office was still Yasuo's territory, therefore Ken had every right to go upstairs and snoop around. Perhaps it was his fear of making Yasuo suspect something underhanded that kept Ken away. It also could have been the fact that it was none of Ken's business.

It may have been an manufactured reason that brought Ken up here, but it would suffice. Ken wanted to at least catch a glimpse of what else Yasuo was doing. In particular, he wanted to know what Yasuo was doing with Koji. Although he knew he had to tread carefully, Ken also sensed some extreme significance in Koji Mathews that may have connected him to the other digi-destined.

Ken draped Yasuo's gray jacket over his shoulder as he proceeded down the hallway. Yasuo had left it in the office and, officially at least, Ken was just heading up to find Yasuo and return it. He walked slowly, keeping both ears open to eavesdrop on any potentially revealing conversations. He heard nothing useful until Yasuo's voice bellowed through the door.

"All signs are good. D-Reaper has penetrated the system."

"How long do you suppose it will take?" asked a second man, whose voice Ken didn't recognize.

"Without the presence of a source agent I am guessing two weeks to eradicate it completely."

It sounded completely irrelevant to the Koji situation. But Ken knew the best way to find out for sure without Yasuo realizing it. He knocked on the door.

"Who the devil is that?" Yasuo responded before opening the door. Upon seeing Ken, his eyebrows narrowed and he backed away slightly. "What are you doing here?" he asked hurriedly.

As Ken mentally noted Yasuo's reaction, he smiled pleasantly and handed over the jacket. "You left your jacket in the office. I hear it's supposed to be chilly tonight, so you don't want to forget it.

Yasuo closed his eyes and exhaled before taking the jacket and nodded. "Yes. Thank you. I was in a hurry this afternoon. I had to drive my son to the emergency room."

"Is he okay?" Ken asked, instinctively concerned.

"He's fine. Just a few stitches and a mild concussion." Yasuo looked away, carelessly answering the innocent question.

"What happened?" Ken was only mildly interested, but the harmless conversation was clearly keeping Yasuo from suspecting anything.

Yasuo shook his head. "He was just… being himself." Quickly, he added, "Have you ever met Ryo?"

"Uh… it's been a few years."

"Hmm, well if you would excuse me, I have work to do."

As Yasuo began to pull the door shut, Ken replied "certainly" and walked away.

It was a good start. Yasuo looked threatened at first. Whatever was going on with this "D-Reaper" it either was relevant to the Koji case, was something Ken was not supposed to learn too much about, or was something completely underhanded. Whatever it was, Ken was going to have to start looking into it further.

"Ichijouji!" Ken stopped as Yasuo called after him. "What's the status on the Ishida girl?"

Despite his initial surprise at Yasuo finally asking about Michi, Ken answered very plainly, "We're still tracking her. Why?"

"Good. Keep doing so. And please keep her in the country if at all possible."

Again, Yasuo's request caught Ken off-guard, but he tactfully hid it. "That shouldn't be a problem, but I thought Michi was in the clear."

"Just a precautionary measure. Keep close tabs on her and report anything suspicious. We'll find out soon if she's in the clear."

That last statement completely baffled Ken, but he affirmed and Yasuo turned around with no further elaboration. Ken stepped into an empty elevator, and called home as it descended.

"Hello?" his wife answered.

"Yolei, we're going to have to keep Michi with us for a little while longer."

"What do you mean? She's supposed to go home Saturday."

"Yeah. Yasuo doesn't want her leaving the country. And right now I think she's safer with us."

"What makes you say that?" Yolei asked.

"Something weird is going on. I don't know if we need to protect her from Yasuo or protect her from Koji, but what I do know is that we can protect her."

"Okay. I just don't want her to end up in the middle of all this. Looks like she's already been beaten up once from it."

"I know. Poor kid." Ken shook his head. The only thing he knew for certain was that Michi couldn't take more of whatever was going on. "I'm on my way home now. I love you."

Ken turned the phone off and set it aside. Somehow, he could feel something brewing. Somehow, he was going to have to get to the bottom of it.

* * *

Another day had passed, and Mari still had heard nothing from Koji. She wanted to go the distance to find him- to scour every corner of the city until he was safe in her arms- but the idea was preposterous. She knew his mission had been discovered. She also surmised that he no longer had the ability to contact her without endangering either of the two. And as much as she wanted to look for him, she could only imagine the danger she would be putting herself in. With such a small chance of success, it wasn't worth the risk.

Besides, her mother was due home soon and Mari didn't want her to know about the little escapade with Koji. Not only was she a little embarrassed to admit having a brief affair with a near stranger, anything related to the Digital World was off-limits. When Mari returned from the Digital World, her mother had pressured her into silence. This repression was part of the reason for her instant chemistry with Koji; Mari could not let her mother know everything had come gushing out one night.

With a sad sigh, Mari lifted herself off of the living room couch. The best thing to do was forget about the whole thing and move on. Sad as it was to leave Koji to the wolves, any other option was too dangerous. Mari began tidying up the living room, waiting for her mother to return. At least her normal life could be a little more comfortable now that she was able to bare her soul to somebody.

As she cleaned, she noticed an envelope lying on the floor. She picked it up. "MARI" was written on the front in bold letters. It was the letter from her father- the reason Koji had stopped by in the first place. Without hesitation, she sat down and opened it. As expected, the letter was neatly typed and formatted:  
  
--------  
Dear Mari:

Many things have changed recently. I am no longer as confident in my theories as I once was. In fact, I am not entirely sure who will be receiving this letter. If you have not journeyed to the Digital World recently, then rest assured that I am living comfortably here with my fellow Chosen. Please give my infinite love to Aya and ignore the remainder of this letter.

On the other hand, if you are the same girl who arrived here in the Digital World, giving me overdue joy as I fought for your safe return, then things are cloudier than I thought they were at the time. You came to me with memories of the impossible- the remnants of a realistic nightmare that somehow infected your mind during your journey between worlds.

Unfortunately, I now have reason to believe that these very impossible events may have been a reality somewhere. A second visitor has arrived in the Digital World with experiences supporting yours. I do not remember if you explicitly mentioned the name Takato Matsuki when you recalled everything to me (I must admit that I had dismissed your story as false without attending to the details). But he did mention similar memories, and also alluded to your pseudonym of Jeri Katou.

Although I am still straining to determine how this string of implausibility came to inhabit your memories, I am now forced to acknowledge the possibility that the events actually happened in some alternate world. If that is the case, then I may have erred in identifying you as my daughter. Whether you are Mari, Jeri, or perhaps a combination of the two, I hope Aya is taking good care of you and that you are safe. If he is not delivering this letter personally, I encourage you to contact Takato and attempt to decipher the truth. If he hand-delivers this, I hope you and he are able to solve this puzzle without any bitterness stemming from the relationship you two may have had.

Love,  
Izzy Izumi_  
_--------  
  
Mari calmly set the letter on her lap and stared forward, her face blank. It was all conjecture, of course. Izzy clearly indicated that he didn't know for certain. Unfortunately, it worked both ways- he didn't say that she was definitely not Mari Izumi, but he also questioned his prior verdict saying she was.

She did not need this. Still haunted by Alice's e-mail, she wanted more than anything to be the original and true Mari Izumi. With the blinding spotlight of her return fading, and having opened herself up to Koji, she finally had the chance to live happily- ready to put the Digital World behind her and move on. But not with this letter throwing her entire past in doubt.

Even more troubling than the possibility that she was not truly Mari was the chance that her "impossible" memories actually happened. Her experiences before arriving in the Digital World were painful, and she had done quite well in convincing herself that it was all just a bad dream. Not only did the letter hint that the pain was real, but that "Koji" was the one positive out of the whole mess; the one who had rescued her, helped her recover, and fallen in love with her. If it was all true, she came to the Digital World to find him. When she did, neither she nor Takato realized it.

If he was really Takato, then Koji suddenly meant a lot more to Mari. But it didn't change the fact that the situation was beyond hope. She still couldn't afford the risk of looking for him. He was lost, and Mari had to accept that. Of course, doing so suddenly became a lot more difficult.

Mari looked down at the letter. It had ruined everything for her; everything she wanted to believe was suddenly cast in doubt. Everything she didn't want to believe was looking more and more like a grim reality. There was only one option for her-

"I am Mari Izumi," she announced defiantly, tearing the letter in two. Just to be certain, she tore it again.

Mari stood, tearing the pieces one final time before she cast them into the trash. As she did, she heard somebody enter the apartment.

"Mari, I'm home!" Aya shouted from the doorway.

With a deep breath, Mari approached her. She smiled brightly and bowed. "Welcome home, mother," she said, "How was the conference?"

Aya hung her jacket and set her luggage down. "Very interesting. I'll tell you about it later. What did you do while I was gone?"

"Oh... nothing," she replied, her smile thriving as Aya sat down on the couch, "Just hung out with some old friends. Nothing to write home about."

_----2033-2034----  
The early days under Hypnos operated smoothly and efficiently. Although Digimon did occasionally "bio-emerge" into the real world, nothing was above the technological capabilities of the program. However, the original researchers became unhappy with the often-violent responses to the Digimon. As they began to reconsider their rejection of Dr. Mizuno's stubborn faith in the Matsuki Project, an opportunity came to revive it. _

_Yasuo__ Akiyama's adopted son Ryo, who had heard about the experiment through his father, approached Tally Onodera's son, Takuya, to learn more. Having no information himself, Takuya directed him to the researchers. Ryo agreed to go into the MAXIS as the researchers developed a way to make him a Tamer. _

_While they did, he made quite a name for himself, attaining prominence as a master of the Digimon card game (quite natural for him, since he had attained similar success in his home world). The researchers did manage to link him to a Digimon, but Cyberdramon was too dangerous to be kept in the real world, especially under the prying eyes of Hypnos. Therefore, he and Cyberdramon entered the Digital World. _

_Once Yasuo found out about this, he was livid and sought to end the project entirely. However, with D-Reaper's evident unreliability in 2030, Yasuo had no method of doing so. It was not until 2031 when Yasuo noticed the traces of D-Reaper still subsiding deep within the Digital World. He reactivated it, hoping to either destroy the world or determine why it wouldn't. He succeeded in the latter, discovering that D-Reaper only deleted what it considered a surplus of evolutionary data. The Digital World handled this crisis on its own- unprompted by the researchers and unobserved by Hypnos. One of the sovereign simply took it upon himself to expel the Shining Digivolution into the real world, disguised as Calumon. _

_However, a second sovereign disagreed with the actions of the first, and sent a legion of powerful Digimon into the real world to retrieve Calumon. Significantly more overt and incredibly destructive, these "Devas" were not only noticed by Hypnos, they were beyond its control. In fact, the only reason the Devas were defeated at all was the mysterious emergence of Tamers in the real world. Although two were artificially created by the researchers, they had no idea how these Tamers had come forth to subdue the beasts. Unfortunately, it did not matter as the damage done was too high and the experiment was quickly deemed a failure. _

_Now seeing why D-Reaper was unable to destroy the world under its original program, Yasuo modified it to delete anything and everything. Having grown somewhat fond of it in the time spent inside, Janyuu Wong opposed the world's elimination and contacted the researchers to help oppose D-Reaper. Hypnos operatives Yamaki, Riley and Tally felt the same way, and allied with the researchers. Other supporters included the returning Dr. Mizuno, Ryo, and Izzy Izumi's daughter Mari, who posed as Dr. McCoy's granddaughter Alice to avoid connection to the Chosen. With key allies to be found in the new Tamers (who had entered the Digital World to retrieve Calumon), "Alice" began applying old theories of digivolution, hoping to create a new evolutionary stage to help battle D-Reaper. Through tireless work with her created "partner" Dobermon, she created an algorithm allowing a physical unification between Tamer and partner known as "bio-merging."_

_With the help of an elaborate back-story concocted by Janyuu (expanded from one he used with his son Henry as his interest in Digimon peaked), the Tamers became the crucial members of the team. With the added support of additional algorithms supplied by Alice and Dr. Mizuno (and despite miscommunications between the two creating unnecessary drama), the Tamers successfully saved their real world from D-Reaper. _

_Yasuo__ had no choice but to acknowledge this defeat, and allowed the real world to be spared if the eradication of the Digital World could continue. Since the Digital World had already been ravaged by D-Reaper, the coalition agreed to the terms, happy at least to have salvaged part of their experiment. Janyuu returned home (using a botched experiment to account for his disappearance) as did Ryo, Yamaki, Riley and Tally. Under the agreement, the remainder of the MAXIS world could only be destroyed if it presented a threat the real world. Yamaki and Yasuo agreed to be the judges of this criteria if it ever applied. It did not become a factor until 2040, when the two discovered Takato Matsuki's intrusion into the real world.  
--------_

Despite everything troubling Koji, he slept very well that night. He still wrestled with the possibility that Guilmon was no longer alive, fretted over the fate of his home world and knew that more trouble awaited him no matter where he went. But Riley and Tally had given him a temporary reprieve from his death sentence. Now that he was out of harm's way for the moment, he was bound to sleep a little easier.

He woke up early the next morning, happy to rise up and face the day. He hadn't been as excited about waking when he was captured- facing reality under Yasuo's custody wasn't worth getting up for. But on this day, he not only could enjoy his sleep, he was also eager to see what the future held for him.

Koji barely heard Riley's voice on the other side of the wall. "Well?" she said quietly.

He caught Tally's reply as well: "I just checked." She too was quiet. After a lengthy pause she added, "Yeah. It's been released."

Not wanting to eavesdrop further, Koji slid the door open. Riley was sitting on the couch, slouching forward with a sad look on her face. Tally stood in front of her, with a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry. We'll get him out of there," she said.

"Good morning," Koji said, doing his best to sound unobtrusive. However, Tally turned to him anyway and smiled.

"You're up early Takato. Er... Koji," she said pleasantly, adding, "What do you want us to call you?"

He thought about it for a moment. After all he had been through, he no longer had a preference. "I'm not sure. I guess it depends on where I'm going next."

With that, Riley stood suddenly. "You can't use either of the two anymore. Koji or Takato, it doesn't matter. Yasuo's out for either of them."

The news was somewhat difficult for Koji to take. After so much work defending his existence as Takato or Koji, his investment into the two was far too heavy to want to shed both and start over again. He slumped down on the sofa.

Tally said nothing to help. She went into the kitchen and said something about having breakfast started before Alice woke up.

"So I have to give up Koji too?" he said lowly.

Riley found the nearest chair. She was also considerably melancholy. "I think I have to start over as well. Yasuo's been looking for a reason to go after me; helping you escape is as good as anything." She extended a hand and found his shoulder. "Don't worry. We'll do it together."

As Tally cooked, Riley rambled off a few possibilities for relocating. Anything in Japan was out of the question, but she had a few ideas about new homes in America. She discussed potentially safe locations in Texas, Connecticut, and even a few right in New York, but Koji was barely listening to them. He just nodded and mumbled in disinterest until Tally called them in for breakfast.

Both Riley and Tally agreed that getting Koji out of the country was the most important and potentially the most difficult thing.

"When were you supposed to leave?" Riley asked.

"Saturday," Koji replied automatically. But the question made him realize something and he added, "What day is it, anyway?"

"Friday." He was a little surprised to hear it. That meant he had only been in captivity for two days. It seemed like a lot longer.

"Whatever the case, it wouldn't be a good idea to leave on your scheduled flight. Yasuo probably has every customs department in the country on high alert by now," Tally said.

She and Riley began discussing the safest way to get him out of Japan. Somewhere around the plan to ferry from Kyushu to Korea, Koji tuned out. He assumed that they would account for his safe departure. He was more worried about the other person scheduled to leave the next day.

"What about Michi?" he blurted.

The women were immediately silenced. They looked at him nervously before eying each other.

After considerable hesitation, Tally said, "That's a good question."

Riley turned to Koji and said, "The problem is that we don't know what Michi's situation is. We don't know if she's safe, we don't know if Yasuo's after her..."

"We also don't know if she would leave without you."

"Isn't there a way of finding out?" Koji asked.

"Not without taking some serious chances," Riley replied, "I don't know if I'm up to calling Mimi to see if she heard anything. And we're definitely not calling your hotel room. It's too risky, especially if we don't know where she is."

Tally added, "If I played the concerned aunt I could get away with being more inquisitive, but we would need some sort of a clue first." She extended a hand and put in on Koji's. With a reassuring smile, she said, "Besides, I know Michi and she's a tough girl. I'm sure she has things under control."

"And you may as well forget about Mari. Whoever she is, she's an unnecessary complication. The important thing is keeping you away from Yasuo."

Koji nodded in understanding but he didn't like the idea. He didn't want to forget about Mari. She certainly didn't forget about him when she sought out Takuya. Koji could picture her worrying and imagining all the horrors he was going through. In reality, he was finally safe and desperately longing to tell her so. But if he followed Riley's plan, he would abandon her. And after finally finding somebody who fully understood him, it was the last thing he wanted.

Increasingly, however, he still had a desire to return to his original world. As much trouble as it had caused Takato before, he now understood that he belonged there. He didn't care about all the talk of computer simulations and virtual reality- the MAXIS was the only place where he could be Takato Matsuki. It was the one place where he had nothing to hide and nothing he said would be dismissed as impossible.

Koji reasoned that if he could face the challenges of the real real world, he could conquer his fake real world as well. Ultimately, Koji saw no fundamental difference between the two worlds. The technological hierarchy didn't matter- the only way the simulation could be accurate is if it was an accurate imitation of the real world. Therefore, if Koji could survive in one, Takato could survive in the other.

It took him a while to summon the courage to ask Riley and Tally about the possibility of re-entry. For all he knew, the very notion of accessing the MAXIS was ridiculous. He finally got the nerve to ask after breakfast. As Tally snooped around the internet and Alice belatedly ate her meal, Riley tossed him a few suggestions for new identities. After Koji gave no response to any of them, Riley asked, "What's wrong? I need to know what you think works the best. This affects you more than anybody."

Eyeing the floor, Koji asked, "Can't you just send me back to my world?"

He looked up at Riley. She was staring back at him, her eyes wider and her lips quivering slightly. She sighed before answering, "That's not an option. Sorry."

"What, you don't have the ability to get me through?"

"We didn't say that!" Tally shouted from the other room. Both Riley and Koji turned to the door as she entered.

"So what's the problem?" Koji asked her.

Tally was looking past Koji at Riley. With a heavy frown, she stepped forward and nervously rubbed her hands together.

"Takato there's no sense trying to hide this from you. I know it's going to be difficult, but it makes your existence all the more important and we're going to work twice as hard to keep you safe."

"What?" Koji asked, already dreading the answer.

"D-Reaper has been re-initiated into your world." She shook her head. "We're helpless to stop it."

As his worst fears were confirmed, Koji could only continue to stare at Tally, hoping that somehow it wasn't true. Of course, he knew it was. He could ignore Ryo's speculations, but hearing the news from Tally made it undeniable. He felt Riley's hand on his neck, rubbing it in futile sympathy. The worst part wasn't D-Reaper being re-initiated. It was the "helpless to stop it" part.

"You can't do anything?" he said, still looking up at Tally, "But you were able to help us last time."

"Exactly. We only supported you. You and your friends made the difference."

With that, Koji jumped off his chair and walked to the end of the room, a place where he could face both Riley and Tally. "So me and my friends will just have to make the difference again. I can't just let it be destroyed."

"Well, we can't be unrealistic," Riley replied, stone-faced, "Takato, you and your friends have nothing to fight with. You have no chance."

He snapped back, "Why? Because you left our Digimon to die?" If it was indeed the reason, he was going to get his answers. It was painful enough to hear what happened to Guilmon. But if it was the reason his entire world would be destroyed, it was unforgivable.

Riley's mouth fell open at the accusation. It began forming words, but nothing came out. She looked at Tally, who silently nodded to Koji.

He grew fiercer, breathing harder and forcing back his tears until they evaporated into resentment. "Why? After all we went through, why was the Digital World so expendable?"

Riley and Tally were stuck for an suitable answer. After several false starts by each of them, it was Alice who stepped in and flatly said, "It was damaged beyond repair. We were working to salvage what we could." Despite being colored differently, her eyes were equally cold and each were aimed at Koji. "At least you didn't have to witness your partner's death."

Alice took a step towards Koji, but Tally intervened. She put a hand on Alice's shoulder and said, "Takato, you just have to trust that we did everything we could to save whatever could be saved."

Not moving from her seat, Riley added, "And you have to trust that we're doing whatever we can to save you now."

Koji's anger subsided. It was hopeless to take his frustration out on his allies. This was the responsibility of Yasuo, and the only one worthy of Koji's wrath. Still facing the three, he asked, "So you can't do anything for Henry and Rika?"

"We're sorry, but without your Digimon there is no way to repel D-Reaper."

"Can we even get in? Can we get them out?"

After thinking for a moment, Tally answered, "I have no doubt that given our abilities, we could engineer some way to hack into the MAXIS. But if you're created in the MAXIS, there is no way out."

Koji didn't bother to use himself as a rebuttal. His was a freak circumstance that had no explanation and could probably not be duplicated.

"Takato, you are the surviving product of this experiment. Unless you stay here, and stay safe, in the end we got absolutely nothing from your world. There would have been no reason for it to have ever existed," Riley said.

_Exist._

There it was again. Koji existed in the world to prove one thing. It had nothing to do with the true nature of his home or to keep alive the diminishing dreams of a few rebellious researchers. He existed to deliver a series of letters to the children of his friends in the Digital World. To the best of his ability, he had done that. If Mari had contacted Takuya, all seven were accounted for. His responsibility to the Chosen was met.

With that out of the way, he had two choices. He could continue to exist under a false identity in the real world, keeping some endangered notion of hope on life support. Or he could go back and face the consequences of his departure. If it was his fault this was all happening, he was not going to let his friends take the bullet for him.

"I don't care. I'm going back," he announced.

Riley grinned in stupor, shaking her head as tried to reason with the boy, "Takato, why? There is no way to defeat it. Don't you think that we would tell you if there was?"

"Start looking. There has to be something we can do. This is my home, and if Yasuo's destroying it because of me, then I can't run away from it."

"What if we're as powerless as we think?" Tally asked.

Still defiant, Koji replied, "Then I guess I'm just going to go down with my friends. I don't care about your experiment. I don't care about preserving it. All I know is that somewhere in that MAXIS is my world. Shibumi created it for me and I'm not throwing it away."

Still unconvinced, Riley continued to shake her head. "This isn't like last time Takato. We don't have any of the researchers, we don't know if Hypnos is still operational, and there aren't any Digimon to fight back with. I know what you're trying to do, but..."

"Yasuo destroyed my Digimon. He is not destroying my world," Koji fired back, "Call the Monster Makers. Get Hypnos up again. I don't care what needs to be done. If you really want to help me, you'll send me home."

After a lengthy silence, Riley stood up and threw a hand into the air. "I guess we have some work to do," she said, briefly looking at him, "I don't suppose we can talk you out of this, huh?" Koji shook his head. Riley went into the computer room, mumbling something about four years being rendered useless.

Tally remained in the room. "You understand exactly how low the odds are, don't you?" But she didn't sound skeptical. She sounded astonished at his resolve.

"I don't think the odds are low at all," Alice interrupted, approaching Koji, "We all see this from the vantage point of our world. Takato is sees this from his."

Re-entering the room, Riley replied, "Alice, our world or his world, all I see is a giant red blob devouring everything we fought for."

"Yes, but his world is different from ours."

"No it isn't," Koji said, "Just because it's a computer simulation doesn't mean anything. It has to be the same world for it to work, right?"

Alice smiled. "Unlike our world, in yours anything can happen. In your world, the rules can be redefined and rewritten on a whim. Unlike our world, your world has a god."

As Koji stared incomprehensively at Alice, Riley and Tally went into the office. God or not, they all had a world of work to do- Takato was going home.  
  
**To Be Continued in "Level 3: Experiments"**

**Author's Notes  
**In most trilogies, the second part tends to end on a bit of a downer, with only a small amount of hope to go off of. That's very much the situation here. Fortunately, the clouds are starting to clear, and everything is in place for the big finale. I don't think I need to explain where Level 3 is going. Look for it starting in October.  
  
The bits of the story inspired by Lain are more evident here than in any other stage. The segments of stark historical narrative are based on one episode of Lain that literally inundates the viewer with tons and tons of information, most of which is not relevant to the story. Here, the "infornography" as they called it is more applicable to the story (many of the oddities posed in Level 1 are explained), but the effect of drowning in the truth is intentional. It is also safe to assume that most of this was relayed to Koji as well.   
  
The "your world has a god" issue is also from Lain. It will remain one of the few mysteries left to be explored in Level 3. If you have seen Lain in its entirety (and have a general idea of what is going on), you can probably make an educated guess. If you haven't seen Lain, don't even try.  
  
A brief word about the new girl- whether you want to call her Alice, Mari, or a walking identity crisis. If you haven't noticed by now, identity is one of the prevailing themes in the story, and Alice is an additional contrast to Koji and Mari's identity issues (not ignoring Michi either). She is caught in-between two personas, with the further problem of both personas currently belonging to somebody else. Her hair and eye colors overtly represent this. Needless to say she isn't quite right upstairs.  
  
Which brings us to Mari. Since this stage is devoted to exposing the truth, it was a great time to confirm what's been up with her. Although only one reader actually said she was Jeri, I'm sure several others were thinking the same thing (and several more are kicking themselves). There were plenty of hints along the way, and the focus should not be on the big revelation but rather Mari's reaction to it.   
  
So with almost everything explained, the stage is set for "Level 3: Experiments." Once again, it will feel very different than the first two, especially since you actually know what's going on for a change! The mind-fuck element is still ever-present, but like the difference between Level 1 (where the atmosphere was very jovial but you knew things were not right) and Level 2 (where you knew where the characters were coming from and what they were doing, but the mood was foggy), I'll have to find a new way to screw with you. Big thanks to beta-readers Rb and Crest of Empathy for sticking with me through all this. Hopefully they'll be along for the ride in Level 3 as well and hopefully I'll learn how to use commas by then.   
  
This ends Level 2 of The Connection.


End file.
